If CAPSTONE's goals are successful, much larger lunar orbiters could follow.
are riding with the Artemis 1 uncrewed test flight. Depending on when they launch—currently scheduled for no earlier than August—they may outrace CAPSTONE to the moon., built by private space company Rocket Labs, who mainly launch little satellites into Earth orbit. CAPSTONE will be Electron’s first attempt to reach for the moon. “That’s also a bit of precedent,” says Thanga.
While it’s orbiting the moon, CAPSTONE will try to do something else: talk to a spacecraft without contacting ground control on Earth. CAPSTONE’s onboard computer will try to link with the, an earlier NASA spacecraft that’s been mapping the moon’s surface since 2009, and calculate the positions of both spacecraft. When communication from Earth to the moon, even at light speed, takes more than 1 second, being able to chat with local satellites is a useful ability.