NASA's Moon Spacecraft Is Tumbling Out of Control

NASA's tiny, Moon-bound CAPSTONE probe is once again in trouble after it was launched earlier this summer.

According to statements issued this week by NASA and Advanced Space, the company managing the itty bitty cube-shaped satellite admitted that an unknown issue caused CAPSTONE to fall last week.

The team is focused on recovery plans. The thermal situation of several subsystems will be improved.

When ground control lost contact with the cubesat, it showed that it was using more power than it was generating, and that its onboard computer systems were periodically reset.

Smol Bean

CAPSTONE is still tumbling even though communications have been restored. Terran parlance means a hot mess.

Advanced Space says it is about to disassemble and reorient the solar panels.

This isn't the first time they've had issues. NASA lost contact with the moon probe a week after it was launched. The problem, NASA said, was a software error, with space experts celebrating its reestablished lines of communication and saying they were rooting for the little guy.

It's sad to think that the fans of CAPSTONE are feeling the same way as NASA's Space Launch System is feeling right now.

There is a new government report that is extremely bad news for NASA.