Lunar Cargo: Voyager Lander Passes Final JPL Trials
The Griffin-1 spacecraft survived vibration and thermal tests, clearing the path for its commercial mission to the moon's south pole.
By Benjamin Rousseau ·
Voyager Technologies confirmed that its Griffin-1 lander has finished all environmental testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This final step prepares the robotic craft for its scheduled launch later this year.
The vehicle will transport over 1,100 pounds (455 kilograms) of equipment to the lunar south pole. The cargo includes science experiments and new technologies intended for surface trials.
Engineers at JPL in Southern California subjected the lander to extreme temperatures, intense vibration, and high acoustic noise. These tests mimicked the physical stresses of launch and the journey to the moon. An image from Aug. 31 captured the spacecraft inside the laboratory's 25-foot-wide (7.6-meter) space simulator.
The lander operates under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. One key piece of the payload is Astrolab's FLIP rover. This rover will carry a supercomputer to explore the terrain at the landing site.
Charles Whetsel, manager of the Exploration Systems Development Office at JPL, noted that the lab has tested robotic explorers since the Ranger program of the mid-1960s. He stated, "We're proud to provide our expertise and facilities to support this new phase of commercial lunar exploration."
NASA aims to build a crewed moon base near the lunar south pole within the next five years. Data collected by Griffin-1 will support the planning of that infrastructure.
Source: Space.com
