The NASA mission will not be launched to the expensive 2022 expensive psychic asteroid

NASA has announced that the mission of the psychic spacecraft, the first mission of the agency designed to study a metal-rich asteroid, will be delayed and launched in 2022. Due to the late delivery of flight software and spacecraft test equipment, NASA will have enough time to complete the required tests before its residual launch period in 2022, which ends October 11 (October 19). , And the psychic mission team needs more time to ensure that the software is working properly in flight. Discovery) or exploration of this agency. A set of competitive, low-cost missions led by a lead researcher. The agency is forming an independent evaluation team to review the way forward for the project and the exploration plan.

" Planning takes its projects and plans very seriously. "We are currently considering options for this mission as part of the Discovery Plan, and the decision will be finalized in the coming months." For the next steps, including estimated costs, and will consider the effects and implications of the Agency's Discovery Program and the Planetary Science Collection. It controls space and is used to direct the spacecraft's antenna toward the ground so that the spacecraft can send data correctly and receive commands. The software also provides route information to the spacecraft's solar electric propulsion system, which starts 70 days after launch.

When NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) mission team began testing the system , A compatibility problem with the software test platform simulators was identified. In May, NASA changed the mission launch date from August 1 to September 20 to take action. The test platform problem has now been identified and modified, but there is not enough time to complete a full review of the launch software this year.

"Flying to a The distant metal-rich asteroid, using Mars as its medium-gravity aid, requires incredible precision. So we have to follow it properly. Hundreds of people have made significant efforts during the epidemic, and work will continue to fully test and evaluate the complex flight software. It was not easy to delay the launch, but it was the right decision. "

Graphic design of a severe collision in the history of a psychic asteroid.
Credit: ASU/Peter Rubin

It lasted until October 10, allowing the spacecraft to reach the asteroid in 2026. Possible launch periods also exist in 2023 and 2024, but the relative orbital positions of the asteroids Saiki and Earth indicate that the spacecraft will not reach the asteroid until 2029 and 2030, respectively. "The exact date of these possible launch periods has not yet been determined." Our amazing team overcame almost all the incredible challenges of building a spacecraft during the Covid epidemic. We've been through a lot of hardware and software challenges, and we've finally come to terms with this latest issue. We just need a little more time and we will spend this one too. "Our team is ready to move forward, and I am very grateful to them." Estimated costs for separate support for each mission plan are currently being calculated. Two other projects were to be launched with the same Falcon Hoy SpaceX missile, including the Janus mission. NASA to study dual asteroid systems and demonstrate "distant space optical communications" technology to test high-speed laser communications integrated with the psychic mission. Now with the delay of the psychic spacecraft, NASA is evaluating both projects.

Cover photo: Graphic design of the spacecraft and the asteroid psychic
Credit: NASA

Source: SciTechDaily