Japan’s Equilibrium Lunar-Earth point 6U Spacecraft (EQUULEUS), one of 10 CubeSat payloads aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, has successfully sent back to Earth photos of the far side of the Moon.
The lunar probe was deployed to measure plasma in the Earth/Moon system and is equipped with an ultra-high-speed camera, an ultraviolet telescope, and a dust sensor in its small 6U CubeSat body to do its job.
So far, the mission shows all signs of doing well, unlike the other Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) 6U CubeSat aboard Orion, Omotenashi, also known as the Outstanding Moon Exploration Technologies, demonstrated by Nano Semi-Hard Impactor.
Omotenashi was intended to crash into the Moon. The landing was softened by an inflatable airbag and shock absorption system, which would study the lunar surface’s radiation using a monitor and an accelerometer.
The mission was designed to demonstrate the use of low-cost technology to land and explore the Moon’s surface.
Sources: https://theregister.com/
