Two Newly Launched Space Probes Are Already Facing Serious Issues

If you need yet another reminder that space travel is ridiculously complicated, two freshly launched probes have already run into trouble.

On February 26, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center, with a payload that included NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer and Astroforge’s Odin. By February 28, both had experienced communications issues with their handlers back on Earth.

In a statement, NASA said that, while Lunar Trailblazer had deployed from the rocket after reaching space without incident, mission control soon began receiving troubling data about the spacecraft’s power systems. At 7:30 a.m. ET on February 27, communication with Trailblazer was lost, only to be regained several hours later.

“The team now is working with NASA ground stations to reestablish telemetry and commanding to better assess the power system issues and develop potential solutions,” said NASA.

Lunar Trailblazer, designed to orbit the Moon, was built to search for clues about the location and state of its water. As part of the agency’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program, NASA has called the Lunar Trailblazer “high-risk, low-cost.” Although SIMPLEx missions are supposed to be capped at $55 million, there have been cost overruns tied to the Trailblazer. According to The New York Times, the cost of building and operating it has reached $94 million.

“To maintain a lower overall cost, SIMPLEx missions have a higher risk posture and lighter requirements for oversight and management,” NASA said on its website. “This higher risk acceptance allows NASA to enable science missions that could not otherwise be done.”

Astroforge has also experienced difficulties staying in touch with its spacecraft, named Odin. The probe is designed to scan for valuable metals as part of the company’s goal of mining asteroids for profit. Writing on X yesterday, Astroforge said it had run into “countless ground station issues,” but had “multiple communication points with Odin.” In a video update posted early Friday morning, CEO Matt Gialich said communications issues were the result of a ground-based power amplifier breaking. “I don’t even know how you make this shit up,” he said.

However, the company believes Odin is in “a power positive state,” and that the vehicle is roughly where it should be and is expected to reach the opposite side of the Moon in two days.

As Gialich admitted, Astroforge doesn’t fully understand the state of the vehicle. He listed two possibilities—the most likely, he said, is that everything is fine, but there is a possibility that the craft is in an uncontrolled tumble. More information is expected on Friday night.

Like Lunar Trailblazer, Odin is a low-budget affair. Astroforge estimates the mission cost at $6.5 million and has raised at least $55 million in funding since launching in 2022.

The plan calls for Odin to use the Moon’s gravity to propel itself towards an asteroid called 2022 EB5, which is currently around 4,039,000 miles (6,500,100 kilometers) from Earth. The timeline to complete the mission is uncertain.

Prior to launch, Gialich seemed to be hedging his bets, saying that the low cost entailed “exceptional risks.”

Tagging along on the pair’s launch was a second lunar-bound probe, but this one’s fortunes appear to be brighter thus far. On February 27, Intuitive Machines said in a statement that its Athena lunar lander is in “excellent health,” having established a stable attitude, its solar panels are functioning, and the spacecraft is in radio communication.

On Friday, the company said on its website that Athena is about halfway to the Moon and is communicating fine with the mission’s flight controllers. The lander is scheduled to touch down on the surface on Thursday, March 6.

Space travel is tricky, with countless variables that can go wrong in what is one of the most hostile environments imaginable. Some people, and we’re not naming names, may think risking human lives on foolhardy missions through the void is reasonable. The two spacecraft’s troubles should be a reminder that it is not.