The 10 satellites weighed only 14 kilograms, a mass that we can consider almost negligible when considering the fact that the SLS can send a 27-ton payload to the Moon. Initially, 13 satellites were supposed to be loaded, but 3 of them were not ready on time due to technical reasons, as well as delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The satellites were loaded into the ICPS booster of the Orion launch vehicle and released after detaching the Orion capsule.

ArgoMoon is a satellite developed by the Italian company Argotec in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, and its role was to provide photographic documentation of the ICPS upper stage after separation from it.

BioSentinel is a satellite containing live yeast cells to measure the effects of cosmic radiation on them, created by NASA’s Ames Research Center; this is the first time living things have reached extralunar space since December 1972, even if we’re talking about relatively simple yeast cells; the self-renewal system of these cells after irradiation is similar to the self-renewal system of human cells.

CuSP (CubeSat for Solar Particles) will orbit the Sun and study the particles of the solar wind and the magnetic field produced by the Sun using the three miniature science instruments it has on board; the probe was made by NASA’s Goddard Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

EQUUELUS, a probe developed by the Japan Space Agency (JAXA) and the University of Tokyo, aimed at exploring the Earth as well as craters on the far side of the Moon; the probe will also make several visits to the L2 Lagrange point, which is also home to the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Lunar IceCube is equipped with miniature spectrometers to detect water and volatiles in the lunar soil developed by Morehead State University and NASA’s Goddard Space Center; the satellite should enter an elongated orbit around the Moon, approaching 100 km from its surface.

LunaH-Map (Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper), an orbiting probe that will search for traces of water in the shadow of craters in the polar regions of the Moon using a neutron spectrometer; The investigation was conducted by Arizona State University.

NEA Scout (Near-Earth Asteroid Scout), a solar sail probe designed to fly over a near-Earth asteroid by NASA’s Marshall Space Center; The probe’s target is the asteroid 2020GE, which is only 18 meters in diameter, but unfortunately ground teams were unable to establish radio contact with the probe after separating from the SLS rocket.

JAXA-designed OMOTENASHI, a probe that planned to selenize with a solid-fuel booster; the probe has two components, the orbiter and the lander itself, both equipped with a 430 MHz radio transmitter so that it can be intercepted by radio amateurs. Unfortunately, the probe’s telemetry was not received by NASA’s Deep Space Network, and it was unable to perform the necessary maneuvers to enter lunar orbit.

LunIR is a satellite developed by the American company Lockheed Martin, which will fly over the Moon and conduct a series of spectroscopic studies, after which it will enter the orbit of the Sun; the probe contains a sensor that will also be used by the Psyche and Europa Clipper missions, but its mission is in jeopardy due to communication problems with the satellite, which appears to be spinning out of control.

Team Miles’ commercial satellite was supposed to test a plasma engine in interplanetary space, but communication with the satellite failed after separation from the SLS rocket’s ICPS upper stage.

Unfortunately, NASA hasn’t made it a priority to report the status of these 10 satellites, so it’s possible that some of the ones that are currently operational will run into problems in the later stages of their mission and we won’t know about it until days later. The additional ICPS stage of the SLS rocket has completed its mission and will remain in orbit around the Sun.

Photo source. profimediaimages.ro