Pittsburgh’s Astrobotic teams with SpaceX for 2023 moon mission
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Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic announced Tuesday it is partnering with SpaceX for yet another groundbreaking moon mission.
In 2023, Astrobotic’s Griffin lunar lander is carrying NASA’s water-hunting Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the moon.
But first, it must hitch a ride to get there. So Astrobotic announced its selection of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the Griffin lander to the moon two years from now.
That’s when Griffin Mission 1 is targeted to launch from SpaceX’s facilities at Kennedy Space Center in Florida — the same launch site used for NASA’s Space Shuttle program and Apollo missions.
Work on the Griffin lunar lander is ongoing with qualification testing set for completion by the end of the year.
“Getting to the moon isn’t just about building a spacecraft, but having a complete mission solution,” said Daniel Gillies, Astrobotic’s Griffin Mission 1 director. “SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy completes our Griffin Mission 1 solution by providing a proven launch vehicle to carry us on our trajectory to the moon. SpaceX has the team, vehicle, and facilities to make this happen.”
In 2020, Astrobotic was awarded a contract by NASA to deliver VIPER to the moon’s south pole. After Falcon Heavy launches Griffin on a trajectory to the moon, Griffin will land on the lunar surface and VIPER will disembark from Griffin’s ramps to survey the surface and subsurface for water ice.
These surveys could be the first step toward using resources in space rather than carrying them all from Earth to enable space exploration.
Griffin’s delivery of VIPER will be Astrobotic’s second, following the company’s Peregrine lander later this year.
“Gaining a better learning of resources on the moon is critical to advancing humanity’s reach beyond Earth, and we are honored to support this exciting mission,” said Stephanie Bednarek, SpaceX senior director of commercial sales.