The world's first private spaceraft built to visit an asteroid is slowly tumbling in space and the outlook is dire.
The spacecraft, called Odin, launched atop a SpaceX rocket on Wednesday (Feb. 26) on a mission to fly by the small asteroid 2022 OB5 for AstroForge, a company that aims to eventually mine the nearby space rock. But just hours after liftoff, Astroforge hit snags with the probe. The last contact was 20 hours after launch.
"I think we all know the hope is fading as we continue the mission," AstroForge founder Matt Gialich said in a video update on X early Saturday (March 1). "So we're going to keep our head up. We're going to keep trying over the weekend, and we'll see how far we get."
At the time of Gialich's update Saturday morning, the Odin spacecraft was over 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) from Earth and largely following its intended trajectory. On Friday, AstroForge said the spacecraft's solar panels were generating power, with tracking data showing it at its expected position. But the probe has not sent full telemetry on its status.
Gialich said AstroForge experienced challenges with ground stations designed to keep communication lines open with Odin after launch.
"And I think missing our early ground stations really hurt the ability of us to fix any potential problems we had," he said.
The 265-pound (120 kilograms) Odin was only designed to last 2.5 hours on its internal battery, but AstroForge received its last contact from the probe 20 hours after liftoff, boosting confidence that the spacecraft is powered.
Odin is tumbling ever so slowly as it flies through space, Gialich added, confirming one theory based on observations of the spacecraft.
"And when I say tumble, this is a really, really low speed tumble," Gialich said. "But in short, we don't know why and that's going to be the problem going forward."
AstroForge's mission team is working through the weekend on recovery efforts, but options may be limited.
"We have a plan over the weekend, and there is still a chance that we are going to be able to recover the vehicle," Gialich said. "We do think we have some theories on what's going on, and if one of them is true, there is still a recovery path."
Gialich said AstroForge will share a more detailed update on its website this weekend, followed by an in-depth analysis on the anomaly next week.
Gialich founded AstroForge with the goal of mining the vast resources from asteroids for use on Earth and in space. The Odin mission is a scouting effort to fly by asteroid 2022 OB5 to record images and data that would set the stage for a landing by AstroForge's next mission, called Vestri.
The company built Odin in just 10 months, Gialich said. It launched as a piggyback payload alongside the company Intuitive Machines' Athena moon lander, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer moon orbiter (which is also suffering issues after launch) and a small orbital tug demonstrator built by Epic Aerospace.
Gialich stressed that AstroForge is committed to that Vestri asteroid landing mission despite the challenges facing its Odin probe.
"We have probably the best group of investors in the world. A lot of them have doubled down on this company," Gialich said. "So regardless of the outcome of Odin, regardless if we ever talk to it again or we don't, we're going to roll these findings into the next mission.
"And we'll see you back here in about a year when we take another stab at it."
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