NASA sees its stalled Martian robot

Japan firm to head for moon on SpaceX rockets

WASHINGTON, Sept 26, (Agencies): NASA scientists can now see their solar-powered probe that was lost in a Martian dust storm more than 100 days ago – but the vintage robot hasn’t shown any signs of life.

Thanks to a high-resolution camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA said Tuesday it can see the Opportunity rover in Perseverance Valley, on the edge of a huge crater.

Opportunity was descending into the valley when a dust storm that was first detected May 30 swept over the region. In NASA’s image, the vehicle appears as a tiny white dot.

The 15-year-old rover was last heard from on June 10, when it went into “sleep” mode as dust blocked out the Sun and darkness enveloped the Red Planet.

“NASA still hasn’t heard from the Opportunity rover, but at least we can see it again,” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement.

Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, are a pair of unmanned robotic vehicles designed by NASA to tool around on the Martian surface and transmit data about conditions there back to Earth.

They landed on Mars in 2003 on a mission meant to last 90 days and span 1,000 yards (meters).

Spirit lasted 20 times longer than that. It became stuck in soft soil in 2009, and its mission was formally declared over in 2011.

Opportunity is going on 60 times its planned mission life, has traveled 28 miles (45 kms) and found evidence of water on Mars and conditions that may have been suitable for sustaining microbial life.

Last month, NASA said it would work until mid-October to try to bring Opportunity back to life, a timeframe fans of “Oppy” said was too short.

A spacecraft around Mars has sent back a photo of Opportunity, which has been silent ever since a massive dust storm engulfed the red planet in late spring. The rover appears in the photo as a pale dot.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took the picture last week from 166 miles (267 kilometers) up. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory released the photo Tuesday.

The global dust storm prevented sunlight from reaching Opportunity’s solar panels, and the rover fell silent in June. Although the skies have cleared considerably, Opportunity has yet to send word to flight controllers. NASA has stepped up efforts to contact Opportunity, but acknowledge the nearly 15-year-old rover may not have survived the prolonged power outage.

A Japanese start-up is to send spacecraft to the moon in a deal signed with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the Tokyobased firm said Wednesday.

Private lunar exploration company ispace said it would blast a lander and rovers towards the moon on a SpaceX rocket on two separate missions.

The spaceware will first orbit the moon in mid-2020, followed by a moon landing attempt set for mid2021. It comes a week after SpaceX confirmed Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will be the first man to fly around the moon on a SpaceX rocket as early as 2023.

“We share the vision with SpaceX of enabling humans to live in space, so we’re very glad they will join us in this first step of our journey,” ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada said in a statement.

Hakamada also told reporters the company chose SpaceX as it is “highly credible” and “capable”.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in a statement that the company is “proud to have been selected by ispace to launch their first lunar missions”.

Hakamada said he could not reveal costs for lunar programmes.

The company has already collected nearly $95 million from investors.

Ispace, which now has more than 60 employees, competed as one of five finalists in the Google Lunar XPrize, which offered $30 million in prizes but ended with no winner.

On reaching space in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, Ispace plans to orbit its lunar lander around the moon and, in its second mission, land two rovers on the moon’s surface, paving the way for further expeditions.

Ispace hopes to offer services to governmental and private clients including carrying payloads to the moon and exploration such as searching for water as colonization of the moon moves closer.

Last week SpaceX said it would carry Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon in the forthcoming Big Falcon Rocket in a mission tentatively planned for 2023.

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A European-made rocket has blasted off from French Guiana for the 100th time, in a symbolic landmark for its manufacturer as it comes under increasing pressure from Elon Musk’s SpaceX programme.

The Ariane 5 spacecraft took off from the Caribbean launch site on Tuesday at 19:38 (22:38 GMT), propelling two telecoms satellites into orbit.

In service for more than two decades and capable of blasting heavy payloads into the sky, the Ariane 5 has become the workhorse of European space launches under the guidance of the European Space Agency (ESA).

But it will soon be replaced by an updated model, the Ariane 6, which will be an estimated 40 percent cheaper to make.

This is partly in response to SpaceX’s arrival on the commercial space flight scene, with its reusable Falcon 9 rocket holding the potential to undercut rival programmes.