LAST UPDATE | 25 Apr 2023
AN IRISH SCIENTIST who led the DCU team that produced samples that were aboard the lunar rover that has, in all likelihood, failed to make it safely to the moon tonight, has said that her overwhelming feeling is “one of pride”.
The Japanese company ispace attempted to make a historic moon landing with its HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander today.
Just as the lander neared the surface, ispace lost contact, leading it to conclude that the mission, after a successful launch and lunar orbit, has now failed.
This blow comes five months after the craft was launched by a SpaceX rocket in December.
It is possible that the craft, which had a lunar rover on board carrying the Irish samples that were to be a key element of one of many exciting research projects, has crash landed on the moon.
Dr Susan Kelleher, 38, is an assistant professor of chemistry who lives in Dublin and has two young children.
When she started out in her career, she never expected her work to make it into deep space, as she was focused on the medicinal benefits of the materials she produces.
Though the outcome of the mission isn’t the one that she and her colleagues, Dr Jessica McFadden, Dr James McCormack, and Dr Graham Reid had hoped for, she says it is still “surreal” that a piece of her work is likely on the moon.
“After all the work that we put into just one part of this mission, and the extensive work that so many others around the world put in, when we sat down to watch the live broadcast today we were nervous but we knew it was out of our control.
“After I was first asked to work on this project, I went and bought my four and six year olds a telescope so they could understand what I was working on and feel like they are part of it.
“When I get home tonight it will be quite special to look up at the moon with my kids and say ‘Something mammy made is up there’, regardless of the outcome,” Kelleher said earlier.
“That definitely makes me feel proud, and I’m proud of my entire team, who had three weeks to get these samples together, knowing that they would have to be perfect or they wouldn’t be used. It was absolutely hectic,” she added.
The Dublin City University professor added that though it is unlikely that the company that launched the lunar lander will be able get “any signal back”, she still believes that aspects of the mission have been a success, and that Ireland’s involvement has been “a big deal”.
Kelleher said that there could be further opportunities for DCU to be involved in space exploration in the future.
“This is the first time samples produced in Ireland have gone to the moon. DCU has to be praised for having a great approach to innovation that will inspire the next generation in this field.
“We were asked to be a part of this by Dr Aidan Cowley from the European Space Agency, and we partnered with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre to develop samples that could be attached to the wheel of their lunar rover.
Hopefully we can continue to work with our collaborators, and be a part of innovation in this area in the future.
Kelleher develops nano and micro-surface patterning of materials, in order to produce samples that can prevent bacteria from binding
These samples are being looked at as a potential way to kill off antibiotic resistant bacteria that can cause serious infections, especially in hospital settings.
Roughly the size of a leap card, they are covered in tiny spikes that can impale dangerous bacterias.
“Imagine a tiny bed of needles or nails,” Kelleher suggests.
Scientists dealing with a different problem – sticky moon dust that can get inside people’s lungs and equipment, impeding lunar missions as a result – are hopeful that the materials being produced could stop moon dust, known as regolith, from binding in a similar way.
“Apart from the possibility that these materials could solve the problems of moon stickiness, they could also be used to fight bacteria one day on the International Space Station,” Kelleher said.
Had the mission been a success, the eight samples on the wheel of the rover would have been put to the test over a ten day journey across to the “shadow side of the moon”.
There, Kelleher explained, the rover wouldn’t be able to survive the cold, and the numerous research projects being carried out on board would come to an end.
“It had high resolution cameras , so we would have had that window to observe how the samples worked, and collect data on the way that the moon dust reacted,” she added.
However, it seems unlikely that the rover will have been released, as just a few minutes before the spacecraft’s planned landing, flight controllers in Tokyo lost contact.
They peered at their screens in Tokyo, expressionless, as the minutes went by with still no word from the lander.
A webcast commentator urged everyone to be patient as the controllers investigated what may have happened.
Contact was lost as the lander descended the final 33 feet, travelling at about 16 mph.
“Everyone, please give us a few minutes to confirm,” the commentator said.
Our engineers and mission operations specialists in our MCC are currently working to confirm the current status of the lander. Further information on the status of the lander will be announced as it becomes available. (2/2)
— ispace (@ispace_inc) April 25, 2023
Read more: https://t.co/OTsYB4DAmi
The founder of the company, Takeshi Hakamada, said: “We have to assume that we did not complete the landing on the lunar surface”.
A few hours ago ispace released a statement that said: “Our engineers and mission operations specialists in our MCC are currently working to confirm the current status of the lander. Further information on the status of the lander will be announced as it becomes available.”
There has been no update since.
If the mission had been successful, it would have been the first private moon landing.
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