Get ready for a cosmic disappointment. Two small spacecraft that were set to explore uncharted asteroids are now stuck inside a Lockheed Martin factory in Colorado. After years of development and nearly $50 million in expenses, NASA announced on Tuesday that the Janus mission will not be launching as planned. The mission was supposed to hitch a ride on the same rocket as NASA’s larger Psyche spacecraft, but software testing issues caused a significant delay. While Psyche is back on track for liftoff in October, Janus won’t be joining the journey.
Janus was designed to study binary asteroids, which are two bodies that orbit the Sun closer to Earth than the metallic asteroid Psyche. Unfortunately, due to the delay, the positions of the targeted asteroids have changed too much, making them inaccessible for the Janus spacecraft. The solar arrays on the spacecraft won’t generate enough power if they fly too far from the Sun. It’s a missed opportunity for scientific exploration.
When it became clear that the Janus target asteroids were out of reach, scientists and NASA management made the difficult decision to remove the twin spacecraft from the Psyche launch. The Janus team considered repurposing the spacecraft for a flyby of asteroid Apophis, a massive space rock that will come within 20,000 miles of Earth in 2029. However, the lack of funding and tight budget constraints at NASA ultimately led to the decision to prepare the Janus spacecraft for long-term storage.
It’s a disappointing outcome, but NASA’s planetary science division had to prioritize limited resources and focus on other missions. Rising costs on projects like the Mars Sample Return and the Europa Clipper have strained the agency’s budget. The recent federal spending limits will likely impact NASA’s overall funding levels. It’s a reminder that even in the vastness of space, financial constraints can limit our exploration.
NASA, the leading research organization for all space exploration and innovation, recently announced it will not be launching two completed asteroid probes despite the conclusion of the project. After almost four years of research, the two probes were designed and constructed and ready to launch, but NASA determined launching them would not be in their best interest.
The asteroids probes were developed for the purpose of studying the composition of nearby asteroids and the potential of mining them for minerals and other resources. After extensive research, the team determined that the mission was a successful proposal and therefore proceeds to the planning and launching phase.
However, after challenging financial constraints, the launch was put on hold due to the rising cost of construction and maintenance. After careful consideration, NASA determined that the mission had exceeded its budget and was currently not feasible due to the expensive launching costs, resulting in the executive decision of not launching the probes.
The team stated that for the project to be successful, planning and budgeting were essential and that launching the probes without proper funding could result in failure and monetary loss. As a result, team members decided to proceed with caution and instead use the money to fund other incoming projects.
The failure to launch the probes will be a huge blow to the mission, and to further research and innovation in the field of asteroid mining. Experts say that this mission could have served as an incredible stepping stone in the exploration and usage of space resources, potentially providing a new outlet for mankind’s technological advancements.
Despite this setback, NASA remains committed to all future asteroid research and exploration missions, and will still strive to provide the world with new technology and developments in the field. The postponement of this mission does not define the success and outcome of the upcoming projects, and NASA will remain focused on its goals of exploration and advancement.
