The Peregrine Lunar Lander will carry scientific and other payloads to the Moon. It is poised to carry out the first successful commercial mission to the Moon and be the first American spacecraft to land on the lunar surface since the Apollo program.

The scientific objectives of the mission are to study the lunar exosphere, thermal properties, and hydrogen abundance of the lunar regolith, magnetic fields, and the radiation environment. It will also test advanced solar arrays.

Stats

Capacity: 120 kg

Power: 1.0 W/kg

Bandwidth: 10 kbps/kg

Payload Operation: 1 lunar day (192 hours)

Landing Precision: 100 meters

Price to Surface: $1.2M/kg

Price to Lunar Orbit: $300k/kg

Peregrine Mission 1 was selected through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, in which NASA contracts with a commercial partner, in this case, Astrobotic, that provides the launch and lander.

The Peregrine Lander is about 1.9 m high and roughly 2.5 m across. It is a box-shaped main body sitting on 4 landing legs.

The scientific payload includes the Laser Retro-Reflector Array (LRA), Navigation Doppler Lidar for Precise Velocity and Range Sensing (NDL), Surface Exosphere Alterations by Landers (SEAL), Photovoltaic Investigation on Lunar Surface (PILS), Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS), Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS), Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo), PROSPECT Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS), Neutron Measurements at the Lunar Surface (NMLS), and Fluxgate Magnetometer (MAG).

Payloads

Agencia Espacial Mexicana (AEM) - Mexico

Agencia Espacial Mexicana (AEM), the Mexican Space Agency, will fly the first Latin American scientific instrument to the surface of the Moon. The payload consists of five small robots, weighing less than 60 grams and measuring 12 centimeters in diameter, will be catapulted onto the lunar surface.

NASA - USA

The LETS radiation sensor will collect information about the lunar radiation environment and relies on flight-proven hardware that flew in space on the Orion spacecraft’s inaugural un-crewed flight in 2014. It is being developed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

DHL MoonBox - Germany

Astrobotic accepted small personal mementos for inclusion on Peregrine Mission One. Items from around the world will be stored aboard Peregrine on the Moon for centuries to come. From photographs and novels to student work and a piece of Mount Everest — life’s most meaningful moments will be forever linked with our nearest celestial neighbor.

Spacebit - United Kingdom

Spacebit is a privately held UK company that is working on space data analytics tools and robotic concepts of space exploration that include AI and advanced microrobotics. The company believes in creating a commercially sustainable data and robotics business in space exploration. Its goal is to create new opportunities for industry and academia by developing infrastructure for commercial resource exploration on the Moon and beyond.

Carnegie Mellon University - USA

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) students, staff, and professors collaborate with Astrobotic to develop space robotics technology. CMU is currently developing the Iris rover for Astrobotic’s inaugural lunar mission. CMU is also a subcontractor on Astrobotic’s MoonRanger lunar rover mission.

NASA - USA

NIRVSS will measure surface and subsurface hydration, carbon dioxide and methane – all resources that could potentially be mined from the Moon -- while also mapping surface temperature and changes at the landing site. It is being developed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California.

Puli Space Technologies - Hungary

Team Puli, from Hungary, will send a unique plaque for the “Memory of Mankind (MoM) on the Moon” project. The plaque contans archival imagery and texts readable with a 10x magnifier.

NASA - USA

NSS will search for indications of water-ice near the lunar surface by measuring how much hydrogen-bearing materials are at the landing site as well as determine the overall bulk composition of the regolith there. NSS is being developed at NASA’s Ames Research Center.

Astroscale - Japan

Astroscale will send the Lunar Dream Capsule which contains messages from children from around the world.

German Aerospace Center (DLR) - Germany

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) joins Peregrine Mission One to land a special German-built radiation detector. It will measure key radiation data on the flight to the Moon and on the lunar surface ahead of the upcoming NASA Artemis missions that will send the first woman and the next man to the Moon.

NASA - USA

PITMS will characterize the lunar exosphere after descent and landing and throughout the lunar day to understand the release and movement of volatiles. It was previously developed for ESA’s (European Space Agency) Rosetta mission and is being modified for this mission by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and ESA.

Carnegie Mellon University - USA

The MoonArk, an epochal collaborative space project at Carnegie Mellon University, embodies the arts, humanities, sciences, and technologies in a set of intricately designed objects intended to spark wonderment and discovery for future generations.

The Arch Mission Foundation - USA

The Arch Mission Foundation designs, builds, delivers, and maintains curated, long-term archives that are housed in specially designed devices called Arch Libraries, or Archs (pronounced “Arks”). Archs are being developed with a variety of form factors to survive for long durations in space, as well as on the surfaces of planets, moons, and asteroids.

NASA - USA

Per NASA: The Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) is designed to use reflected laser light from Earth to precisely determine the location of the Peregrine 1 lander. It consists of eight 1.25-cm retroreflectors.

Astrobotic - USA

Astrobotic will demonstrate its standalone Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) sensor as a payload on its first mission to the Moon. TRN will enable spacecraft to perform landings on planetary surfaces with an unparalleled accuracy of less than 100 meters. The TRN sensor is being developed under a $10 million NASA Tipping Point contract with NASA's Johnson Space Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Moog.

NASA - USA

NDL was developed by NASA’s Langley Research Center and will determine the Peregrine spacecraft’s exact velocity and position to land on the Moon using LiDAR (light detection and ranging). NDL was developed by NASA over 10+ years for precise, safe landings on the Moon and in other challenging environments.

Elysium Space - USA

Elysium is providing lunar memorial services to deliver a symbolic portion of remains to the surface of the Moon.

Celestis - USA

Celestis is the first company to have successfully conducted Memorial Spaceflight Missions, the only company to have been selected by NASA to honor one of its scientists, and for more than two decades an iconic pioneer and global leader of the commercial space age.

Bitmex - Seychelles

A unique physical coin going to the Moon, loaded with 1 Bitcoin.

Lunar Mission One - UK

Lunar Mission One gives everyone on Earth the chance to make their mark on the Moon and is sending the first digital storage payload to the Moon. With submissions of footprints from all over the world, the payload supports Lunar Mission One’s “Footsteps on the Moon” campaign.

BTC INC.

This plate includes a copy of the Genesis Block, the first block of bitcoin (BTC) to be mined. This cornerstone of the Bitcoin network provides the foundation for an ecosystem that would challenge our perception of how money is valued and managed in a digital age.

Caption credit: NASA

Image Credit: ULA / Ben Cooper

ULA will host a Celestis, Inc. memorial spaceflight payload aboard the initial flight of ULA’s Vulcan Centaur. Known as the Enterprise Flight, the Celestis mission will launch more than 150 flight capsules containing cremated remains (ashes), DNA samples, and messages of greetings from clients worldwide on an endless journey in interplanetary space.

Among those honored on board the Enterprise Flight include Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, his wife and the “first lady of Star Trek” Majel Barrett Roddenberry, beloved Star Trek actor James “Scotty” Doohan, 60’s icon Nichelle Nichols, and DeForrest Kelly who played Dr. “Bones” McCoy on the show, along with VFX master Douglas Trumbull, Apollo astronaut Philip K. Chapman, and 185 others from around the globe. Enterprise will be taking ashes, DNA, and MindFiles from the global public on an infinite journey into deep space.

“We’re very pleased to be fulfilling, with this mission, a promise I made to Majel Barrett Roddenberry in 1997 that one day we would fly her and husband Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry together on a deep space memorial spaceflight,” said Celestis Co-Founder and CEO Charles M. Chafer. “The mission is named Enterprise in tribute to them - and also fellow mission participant and beloved actor, James “Scotty” Doohan - as well as the many Star Trek fans who are joining them on this, the 20th Celestis Memorial Spaceflight. We look forward to launching this historic mission on a rocket named Vulcan.”

“We are honored that Celestis has selected ULA to launch this important mission,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “What a fitting tribute to the Roddenberry family and the Star Trek fans to be a part of the maiden flight of Vulcan, our next-generation rocket.”

"ULA has a deep history with launching critical missions in support of national defense for our nation, so we are deeply humbled that many veterans also will be flying on this mission,” said Bruno. “It is an amazing recognition of their service and sacrifice to our country from their loved ones.”

Vulcan Cetaur’s maiden flight will first put Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander on a trajectory for its rendezvous with the Moon. The Centaur upper stage will then continue on to deep space, entering a stable orbit around the sun, with Celestis’ Memorial Spaceflight Payload.

About Celestis

Celestis, Inc. is the pioneer and iconic global provider of Memorial Spaceflight Services for those seeking to celebrate a life or the life of a loved one with a uniquely compelling memorial experience. Celestis missions offer four unique destinations: reaching into suborbital space, Earth’s orbit, the Moon’s surface, and now - with the Enterprise Flight - to interplanetary space.

Celestis services are available through our online portal www.celestis.com and via a network of more than 3,000 funeral service providers worldwide. Reservations remain open for the Enterprise Flight and other Celestis missions.

Since its first mission – the 1997 Founders Flight – and through 16 subsequent missions to date, Celestis has been recognized by nearly every prominent member of the global media, by distinguished organizations, including the National Space Society and the Space Frontier Foundation, and most importantly by its clients from all walks of life – from astronauts to truck drivers - as a leader in both the commercial space industry and among emergent alternative funeral services providers.

Every Celestis mission brings families together from around the world to witness the launch of their loved ones on a final mission of purpose. We will conduct a multi-day set of mission-related events for the Enterprise Flight, culminating with viewing the launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Caption and image credit: Celestis, Inc.

United Launch Alliance's brand new launch vehicle, Vulcan Centaur is a two-stage-to-orbit, heavy-lift launch vehicle. It will replace both of ULA's existing launchers (Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy) which are retiring.

Stats

Height: 61.6 m (202 ft)

Diameter: 5.4 m (18 ft)

Mass: 546,700 kg (1,205,300 lb)

Stages: 2 and 0, 2, 4 or 6 boosters

Capacity

Payload to low Earth orbit (28.7°): Mass: 27,200 kg (60,000 lb)

Payload to geostationary transfer orbit (27.0°): Mass 14,400 kg (31,700 lb)

Payload to geostationary orbit: Mass 7,200 kg (15,900 lb)

Payload to trans-lunar injection: Mass 12,100 kg (26,700 lb)

On Monday, January 8th, 2024, United Launch Alliance successfully launched the maiden flight of its new Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The new launcher is powered by Blue Origin's BE-4 engines and marks the first time the Bezos-owned company's hardware has flown an orbital mission.

United Launch Alliance has a proven and uninterrupted record of launching many of NASA's flagship science missions like the Perseverance Mars rover, the Parker Solar Probe, and sample return mission OSIRIS-REx. Just to name a few.

ULA Chief Tory Bruno remarked on the seemingly perfect maiden launch by noting that the only problem that arose was a broken coffee machine in launch control. It was fixed by a nearby rocket scientist before liftoff.

Praise came from across the industry, and included was a congratulatory reply on X from Bruno's nemesis SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Many expect Vulcan to provide some competition in the Falcon-dominated launch market.

Configurations

Vulcan is available in four standard offering configurations including zero, two, four, and six solid rocket booster (SRB) variants.

Payload Fairings

The spacecraft is encapsulated in a 5.4-m- (17.7-ft-) diameter payload fairing (PLF), a sandwich composite structure made with a vented aluminum-honeycomb core and graphite-epoxy face sheets. The bisector (two-piece shell) PLF encapsulates the spacecraft. The payload attach fitting (PAF) is a similar sandwich composite structure creating the mating interface from the spacecraft to the second stage and payload fairing. The PLF separates using a debris-free horizontal and vertical separation system with spring packs and frangible joint assembly. The payload fairing comes in the 15.5-m (51-ft) standard and 21.3-m (70-ft) long configurations.

Multi-Manifest
With multi-manifest, two or more spacecraft are integrated into a launch vehicle — optimizing mass to orbit and enabling missions. Depending on the size of the spacecraft, multi-manifesting on a Vulcan rocket can be done in several ways. The Aft Bulkhead Carrier (ABC) interfaces at the aft end of the Centaur upper stage and can carry up to 24U CubeSats weighing 80 kg each. The Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA Ring) is located between the upper stage and the primary payload and can accommodate 4-6 payload modules weighing up to 318 kg each. Finally, for small satellites exceeding the mass of an ESPA capability, the Multi-Payload Canister System is a load-bearing separating canister that can be utilized to enclose an aft small satellite while supporting a forward traditional large satellite.

Main Engine

Booster propulsion is provided by a pair of BE-4 engines, manufactured by Blue Origin.

Solid Rocket Boosters

Vulcan integrates up to six Northrop Grumman Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM) 63XL Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). They are constructed out of a graphite-epoxy composite with the throttle profile designed into the propellant grain.

Upper Stage

Vulcan will rely on two RL10C engines to power its second stage. Logging a record of nearly 400 successful flights and nearly 700 firings in space, RL10 engines, manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne, harness the power of high-energy liquid hydrogen. The RL10 boasts a precision control system and restart capability to accurately place payloads into orbit.

Credit: ULA

Photo: Erik Kuna for Supercluster

Space Launch Complex-41 is the east-coast home of United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket.

The pad hosted its first launch on December 21st, 1965 and is currently being upgraded to serve ULA's Vulcan rocket no earlier than 2022.

Vulcan and Atlas V will share the pad for several years before the Atlas is retired.

From the 1960s to the 1990s, SLC-41 was used for the U.S. Air Force’s Titan III and Titan IV rockets.

It has been the launch site of many notable missions:

• the Helios probes to study the Sun
• the Viking missions to Mars
• the Voyager interstellar probes
• the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
• New Horizon to Pluto and Kuiper Belt
• Juno to Jupiter.

The pad will soon start launching humans on Boeing's Starliner capsule beginning no earlier than 2024.

Located on Florida’s east coast, Cape Canaveral is ideally located to allow access to a wide variety of space destinations that can be reached while safely launching over the open Atlantic Ocean so as not to endanger anyone on the ground.

The Cape currently supports the launch of four different rocket families: Atlas V, Delta IV, Falcon 9, and Minotaur.

Launches of Vulcan from ULA and New Glenn from Blue Origin are set to begin no earlier than 2024 with current schedules.

NASA's Kennedy Space Center, which occupies neighboring Merritt Island, and Cape Canaveral are often confused with each other or referred to as a single place.

They are in fact separate government installations but united as a single “Eastern Range” for launch operations.

Over its history, the spaceport has held the following names:

• Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (1949-1963)
• Cape Kennedy Air Force Station (1963-1973)
• Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (1973-2020)
• Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (2020-present)

Credit: ULA

Peregrine is planned to land on Mons Gruithuisen Gamma, a lunar dome that lies to the north of the crater Gruithuisen at the western edge of the Mare Imbrium.

About 40 minutes after separation from ULA’s Vulcan rocket, Peregrine’s propulsion system will activate and begin receiving commands from Astrobotic’s Mission Control Center. One of the first commands will initiate thrusters to point Peregrine’s solar panels at the Sun to begin charging its battery. During the cruise, the team will orchestrate trajectory adjustment maneuvers in Earth orbit before lunar orbit insertion.

After launch, Peregrine has a long checklist of milestones to complete on its way to the Moon. The first handful will be executed shortly after launch when the spacecraft will separate from the rocket, power on, and establish communications with Earth. At this stage, telemetry flowed through the NASA Deep Space Network system to the Astrobotic Mission Control Center in Pittsburgh will start informing the mission control team of the spacecraft’s position, orientation, and general operational health.

Credit: Astrobotic