NASA's Lunar Trailblazer probe, intended to map water distribution on the Moon, has gone silent shortly after its launch on February 27. Initial telemetry suggests potential power supply issues, with the spacecraft likely spinning in a low-power state. As controllers continue their efforts to establish contact, the likelihood of achieving the planned lunar orbit remains bleak. The team is exploring alternative mission strategies to meet some science objectives, but communication restoration is crucial for these efforts. The situation is complicated further by the concurrent loss of contact with the Odin asteroid-mining probe.
Controllers hope that the spin will eventually result in more sunlight reaching Lunar Trailblazer's solar panels, supporting higher-power operations and communication.
The issues have meant that post-launch Trajectory Corrections Maneuvers (TCMs) have not been performed, required to tweak the spacecraft's trajectory.
Even if communication was restored at this point, getting into that planned orbit is highly unlikely.
The leading theory for the silence is that the spacecraft is spinning slowly in a low-power state.
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