Moonrise ( eng. MoonRise ) - an unrealized NASA mission, which was tasked with delivering soil from the South Pole Basin - Aitken on the far side of the Moon , between its South Pole and , 16 ° south of the Moon's equator. The size of the basin is estimated at about 2500 km in diameter and 12 km in depth. This region - the oldest and deepest of the visible impact craters on the Moon (as well as one of the deepest known impact craters of the Solar System [1] ) - is a window deep into the lunar crust , through which you can learn its history. This mission could be the first unmanned mission of NASA to deliver soil samples to Earth [2] .
| MoonRise | |
|---|---|
| Customer | NASA |
| Manufacturer |  |
| Tasks | the study of the moon , the delivery of soil samples to Earth |
| Launch | 2024 (plan) |
| Specifications | |
| Power sources | Solar panels |
The launch of the mission was planned for October 2016, a visit to the moon in March 2017, including 10 days of surface studies. Return to Earth in August 2017 [1] .
The MoonRise mission was not selected for the next launch of the New Frontier [3] [4] program, losing out to the OSIRIS-REx mission on soil delivery from the asteroid 1999 RQ36 .
In November 2017, it became known that the MoonRise flight was scheduled for 2024. It is assumed that the radio link between the Earth and MoonRise, located on the far side of the Moon , will be provided by the Russian station Luna-26 [5] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 MoonRise Facts Unreferenced (not available link) . Nasa Archived May 16, 2011.
- ↑ The University of Washington Mission at St. Louis on the Moon is a NASA finalist for the next big and risky venture . University of Washington in St. Louis . Archived September 25, 2012.
- ↑ NASA selects among the finalists for the New Frontiers program (inaccessible link) . Archived September 25, 2012.
- ↑ NASA selects a mission to deliver soil from an asteroid to Earth (not available link) . Archived September 25, 2012.
- ↑ NASA has shown interest in the Russian lunar stations
Links
- NASA mission page (inaccessible link) . Archived October 26, 2003.