SpaceX is about to launch NASA’s Lunar Flashlight satellite, as well as HAKUTO-R Mission 1, the first privately led Japanese mission to land on the lunar surface.
The Falcon 9 rocket carrying payloads will liftoff from Kennedy Space Center around 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 30. Live streaming will be available online as the event unfolds. You can find the exact details below on how you can watch.
The compact Lunar Flashlight satellite, which is about the size of a small suitcase, will use lasers Search for water ice in permanently shadowed craters at the moon’s South Pole, exploring places that haven’t seen sunlight in billions of years.
Lunar Flashlight’s three-month mission will include four lasers, which emit near-infrared radiation in wavelengths easily absorbed and reflected by surface water. NASA, adding: “Should the lasers hit bare rock or regolith (broken rock and dust), the light will reflect back to the spacecraft. If the target absorbs light, it would indicate that there is water ice. The greater the absorption, the more ice there may be.”
It’s hoped that lunar water could one day be used for astronauts on long-stay moon missions, and even Rocket fuel can be created with your helpFor missions that launch from the moon to other planets like Mars. This would allow space missions to be more efficient since they launch from the moon which has less gravitational force than Earth. It would also eliminate the need for large rockets and large amounts fuel.
Wednesday’s launch will also carry Japan’s HAKUTO-R lander to space for a lunar landing to deploy a number of government and private payloads.
How to watch
SpaceX will launch its Falcon 9 rocket in Florida from the Kennedy Space Center at 3:39 a.m. ET (12.39 a.m. PST/8.39 a.m. TTC) on Wednesday November 30.
You can view the launch and first stages of the mission using the embedded video player at the top. Alternativly, you can visit SpaceX’s websiteThe feed will also be available at. The broadcast will start approximately 15 minutes before launch.
A backup option is available for launch failures on Thursday, December 1 at 3:37 a.m. ET (12:37 a.m. PT/ 8:37 a.m. UTC).
Check here for the latest information on the status of the mission. SpaceX’s Twitter account.
What should you expect?
SpaceX will show its Falcon 9 rocket, the workhorse of the company, taking off from Kennedy Space Center. The rocket will light up the Florida sky. The flight’s early stages will be captured by cameras on the ground as well as on the rocket. First-stage separation high above Earth will be livestreamed, as will the booster’s touchdown at Landing Zone 1 a short distance from the launch site. As the rocket launches into space, you can expect detailed commentary about the mission and the flight itself.
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