How engineers test Moon landers on Earth
Four out of the past eight Moon landing attempts have failed. Even as lunar ambitions skyrocket worldwide, having a robotic lander touchdown by itself remains a daunting undertaking. Until a spacecraft is aloft, engineers never really know if their testing regime was appropriate. In this feature piece for Nature, I explain the key tests and challenges engineers face in preparing a lander for Luna:
Related articles I’ve written previously:
- Past mistakes to avoid in our grand return to the Moon this decade
- A brief history of space missions lost to human errors
- Space grade electronics: How NASA Juno survives near Jupiter
→ Commission an article | Browse | About