[ad_1]
A preliminary inquiry into what caused Israel Beresheet to land on the moon, April 11 apparently puts the blame on a "manual control" that was entered into the spacecraft computer.
"This caused a chain reaction in the spacecraft, during which the main engine went out, preventing it from continuing to operate," according to a statement released today (17 November). April) by the managers of Beresheet, the non-profit group SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace. Industries (IAI).
The teams are continuing their investigations to understand all of what happened during the mission, the statement said. "In the coming weeks, the final results of the survey will be published."
Related: The first Lander Beresheet of Israel in pictures
Belvedere LRO
Meanwhile, researchers are looking for a NASA piggyback experience that might have survived the destructive landing of Beresheet on April 11th.
From NASA Moon recognition orbiter (LRO) will target the site of the accident several times, monitoring the area with its high power cameras. In addition, LRO will use its Lunar Orbiter (LOLA) laser altimeter onboard to try to detect a network of laser reflectors provided by NASA in the Beresheet wreck area.
Called the NASA / MIT NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Network of laser retroreflectors (LRA) for Lunar Landers, the ball-shaped device was located on the upper surface of Beresheet.
From the size of a computer mouse, LRA is composed of eight mirrors consisting of corners of quartz cubes embedded in a domed aluminum frame. This network is light, hardened by radiation and lives for a long time.
From LRO flying at high altitude, laser beams generated by LOLA would strike the aircraft and then bounce off the orbiter. For each laser beam, LOLA measures its flight time or range.
Overhead costs
Although there are numerous attempts to target the wreck, LRO is only on the site twice a month, and one of these passes takes place in the area. darkness (which is not a problem for the laser), explained David Smith of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Senior Researcher for LOLA and Emeritus Researcher at NASA Goddard in Greenbelt, Maryland.
"But the site can be viewed on several passes around the air passage looking sideways, forwards or backwards, and this requires the space shuttle to roll to see the target," said Smith.
"It's a decision that LRO takes to make sure there are no problems with the near-sun points or that star cameras can see the stars (not the lunar surface)," he added. requests for guidance and guidance and role guidance to the LRO project for a specific observation period.
Pointing requests
According to Smith, it is a normal procedure, but researchers usually have to submit their applications for scoring about a week in advance. This allows the LRO project to check the pointing capabilities (there are limits) of LRO as well as the thermal effects and solar panels of spacecraft pointing to charge the batteries.
"It can take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to the space shuttle to turn in the desired direction and another 15 minutes to return to its normal nadir mode for only a few seconds of observations," Smith said. inside outer space.
"I'm sure the project will begin to attempt observations as soon as possible," Smith said. The LRO camera system and the laser are co-endoscopized. "So, when the camera tries to take an image, the laser altimeter accompanies it automatically and tries to perform a distance observation at the same time."
At a speed of over 3300 km / h (3300 km / h), the period of observation of the LRO is over in seconds, Smith said.
Leonard David has written the forthcoming book "Moon Rush: The New Race in Space", which will be published by National Geographic in May 2019. Longtime writer for Space.com, David discusses the industry space for more than five decades. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link