Castrol in mission control
Castrol is returning to the Moon this February, collaborating with Lunar Outpost to support their Mission Control Centre for their upcoming groundbreaking mission.
to the Moon
Castrol collaborated with NASA in the 1960s on the Apollo missions to the Moon, and this February, we are going back.
This time at the heart of mission control with Lunar Outpost, while also testing our space-grade lubricants on MIT Media Lab’s AstroAnt.
Lunar Outpost’s MAPP Rover and MIT Media Lab’s AstroAnt will embark on a groundbreaking mission to the Lunar South Pole, launching from Cape Canaveral, USA.
Landing in March, the MAPP Rover will be monitored via mission control as it helps establish a lunar cellular network - and much more.
The mission is set for a four-day launch window, opening no earlier than February 26th.
Stay tuned on our social channels for updates, or find out more below.
Who are Lunar Outpost
Lunar Outpost is the industry leader in space robotics, lunar surface mobility, and space resources. The company is on a mission to enable an extended human presence in space while utilising its vast resources to drive progress on Earth. From rovers headed to the Moon to establish infrastructure, to the creation of oxygen on Mars - their impact spans the solar system.
Mission Control Centre collaboration
Lunar Outpost named Castrol the lead Mission Control Centre collaborator for its Lunar Voyage 1 mission. The Mission Control Centre will be the primary centre of operations and decision-making during Lunar Outpost's Lunar Voyage 1 (LV1), launching in early 2025. Castrol has worked with NASA since the first Apollo missions, offering decades of space expertise to the Lunar Outpost team.
Early days of Mission Control
Beginning with NASA's Mercury and Gemini programs in the 1960s, Mission Control played a pivotal role in pioneering space exploration. In these early days, Mission Control Centres were filled with engineers and technicians who relied on analogue systems and slide rules, making split-second decisions with far less automation than today.
Communication delays and basic displays meant teams had to work with limited data, relying heavily on their expertise and instincts to guide missions safely through uncharted territory in space exploration history.
Mission Control today
Today's Mission Control Centres are the height of modern technology. Teams use advanced digital systems, real-time data analysis, and global communication networks to manage complex space missions with precision and efficiency.
As one of many companies working on Lunar Voyage 1, Castrol will be supporting Lunar Outpost to develop a new kind of Mission Control. The state-of-the-art design hub will help shape the future of space exploration as we know it.
Lunar Voyage 1
Lunar Voyage 1 is Lunar Outpost's inaugural mission to the Moon. The company's Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) Rover will land at Shackleton Connecting Ridge near the Lunar South Pole to undertake several critical tasks: the collection of valuable data and prospecting information from an array of sensors to inform future lunar programs.
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