2024-01-13 17:31:00
Archive photograph of the doctor of the space instrumentation laboratory (LINX) of the Institute of Nuclear Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Gustavo Medina Tanco. EFE/José Méndez
Mexico City, Jan 13 (EFE).- The first mission to the moon by Mexico and Latin America, called ‘Colmena’, managed to cross the lunar orbit and, with the fulfillment of 75% of its objectives, points towards its second mission in 2027, reported Gustavo Medina, project leader from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
The ‘Hive’ project seeks to enable five micro robots, called ‘bees’, to analyze the possibility of installing structures on the lunar surface and study lunar dust as a resource for the production of oxygen and metals, as well as to know how it affects the telecommunications.
The ‘Colmena’ project was launched from a platform in Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States aboard the Peregrin spacecraft, owned by the company Astrobotic and supported by the Mexican Space Agency (AEM).
Medina even highlighted that Mexico is positioned as one of the few countries in the world that successfully manages to enter deep cislunar space with its own technology, regarding 385,000 kilometers from Earth.
“Very few countries in the world have arrived and Mexico is now in that club. We can say that we have obtained enough achievements to go directly to ‘Colmena II’ in 2027,” Medina said in a video shared on X (formerly Twitter).
The landing of the bees, which weigh less than 60 grams and measure 12 centimeters in diameter, was not possible on this first mission, due to a propulsion failure and fuel leak from the American spacecraft Peregrine, discarding the remaining 25% of their final objectives.
“Our propellant estimates currently have us running out of fuel sooner than the (planned) 15 days; However, our engineers are still optimistic regarding extending Peregrine’s lifespan,” he reported in his most recent Astrobotic update.
However, the ‘Hive’ of Mexican micro robots maintains full communication with the Institute of Nuclear Sciences of the UNAM, in Mexico, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, for its acronym in English), in the USA. USA
“It was possible to generate the necessary techno-scientific knowledge, the training of highly specialized human resources and the link with national and international companies and institutions,” reported the UNAM ICN, while announcing that the transmission of information has already begun.
Next Thursday, January 18, a teleconference is planned through official NASA channels to give the most important updates on this first mission, while two more ‘Hive’ missions are already scheduled in 2027 and 2030.
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