The new ship is called the Nova-C and was developed by Intuitive Machines. The launch is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:57 am Dutch time. If departure is not possible, the next option is Thursday at 7:05 am Dutch time.
The target is a crater at the moon's south pole. Nova-C should land there next week. He has a week to research before the sun sets and the ship runs out of energy.
When astronauts set foot on the moon again in the coming years, the crater will be pictured as their arrival point. People last walked on the moon in 1972.
Nova-C is over 4 meters tall and weighs approximately 675 kg. He will, among other things, conduct research on the effect of charged particles from the Sun on the surface of the Moon. When people return to the Moon in the coming years, they will be fully exposed to the particles and have no protection from the magnetic field as they do on Earth. The US also wants to test more precision landings.
There is a statue of the artist Jeff Koons on board. If the mission is successful, it will be the first piece of artwork on the moon since 1971.
The U.S. hopes space agencies can help build bases on the moon. The space agency NASA has set up an entire program called Commercial Lunar Payload Services for this purpose. Companies can receive millions of dollars to design and build lunar devices.
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