A Vulcan rocket carrying a lunar lander built by the US company Astrobotic has blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The uncrewed Peregrine lunar lander will attempt the first US soft landing on the moon since the final Apollo landing in December 1972.
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00:00 It will take the Peregrine Lunar Lander 35 days to reach its destination,
00:07 the ocean of storms on the Moon.
00:10 Its purpose is to gather important data that NASA needs for a later mission,
00:15 when they will investigate the area scientifically.
00:20 To do so, the lunar module must independently approach its intended landing site
00:25 and touch down with a soft landing.
00:30 Peregrine is scheduled to complete the first of nine planned commercial lunar transports,
00:35 funded by NASA to the tune of 2.6 billion US dollars.
00:39 The agency hopes to use the program to accelerate the development of technologies for its lunar project,
00:45 reduce costs and inspire the next generation of space travelers.
00:50 The shuttle also carries some commercial cargo.
00:53 For at least eight days, Peregrine is expected to remain in service and maintain contact with Earth.
01:00 Also on board is the first American lunar rover developed by students,
01:04 the smallest and lightest of its kind.
01:07 And it's the first to have its wheels and chassis made of carbon fiber.
01:13 With it, NASA is sending along mostly scientific instruments to test for upcoming missions.
01:22 Astrobotics' next lander is already set to make space history next year.
01:27 Its destination? The Moon's south pole.
01:33 The transporter aims to bring a vehicle to the lunar surface
01:36 to explore the water deposits in a crater for the first time.
01:41 It will try and find out where the highest concentration of water is
01:45 and how deep it is below the surface.
01:49 It's all early research for setting up an outpost on the Moon.
01:54 Water can be used to produce breathable air and fuel for a further push into space, towards Mars.