This second private lunar mission has some firsts — it will be the first US lunar landing since the final mission of Nasa’s Apollo program — Apollo 17, more than 50 years ago
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NASA launched five payloads to the Moon aboard Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander, marking the start of 2024 and the first mission under NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. Dr. Sharad Bhaskaran, who is of India origin, is the mission director.
Formerly with Lockheed Martin, he manages the engineering team. This mission follows Israel’s Space IL attempt in 2019 and features significant milestones, including the first U.S. lunar landing in over 50 years and the maiden flight of ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket.
Bhaskaran is currently the Mission Director at Astrobotic Technology Inc. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is leading the engineering team responsible for developing a commercial robotic lunar lander designed to transport payloads to the moon’s surface. Before joining Astrobotic, he worked for 25 years at Lockheed Martin. A graduate in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, Dr Bhaskaran’s parents are originally from Kochi.
In April 2019, the first private lunar mission was launched by Israel’s Space IL. This second private lunar mission has some firsts — it will be the first US lunar landing since the final mission of Nasa’s Apollo program — Apollo 17, more than 50 years ago. It will be first to launch under Nasa’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative, and the Peregrine lander will be carried by United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket, which will be its first flight.
