--- title: "Dead Artemis Spacecraft Careens Out of Lunar Orbit" description: "NASA's lunar mission has lost one its cube-shaped satellite entourage, which over the weekend shot out of the Moon's orbit." date: "2022-12-19" modified: "2022-12-19" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/dead-artemis-cubesat-neascout" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "artemis" - "cubesat" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # Dead Artemis Spacecraft Careens Out of Lunar Orbit ![NASA's lunar mission has lost one its cube-shaped satellite entourage, which over the weekend shot out of the Moon's orbit.]() *\Image: NASA / Futurism\* ## Lunatic One of NASA's lunar mission has shot out of the Moon's orbit. Publicized by [Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell](), the tumultuous tumble of Artemis 1's Near-Earth Asteroid Scout (NEAScout) was precipitated last month by reports that NASA had been having [trouble establishing communications]() with the miniaturized cube-shaped satellite, known as a "cubesat." "NEAScout accompanied Artemis to the Moon but did a hard skid around \[it and\] is shooting out of the Earth-Moon system entirely," McDowell tweeted, adding that "alas, it died soon after launch" and thus was "inert" anyway. Intended to study the small 2020 GE asteroid, NEAScout was supposed to unfurl a gigantic 924-square-foot solar sail to get it to the nearby asteroid, but those plans have been for naught from its release. ## Cube-Scattered This latest loss follows in the footsteps of another released just over a month ago by the [uncrewed Orion spacecraft]() — the [CubeSat to Study Solar Particles]() (CuSP), which NASA lost contact with about ten days ago. As *Futurism* reported at the time, the loss of CuSP comms brought the total number of out-of-commission cubesats from the Artemis constellation to [four out of ten](), which included the NEAScout going dark just after launch. It's clearly been a bad month for the Artemis cubesats, and as the [Harvard astronomer added](), there's no public trajectory data for the remaining nine. "Sigh," McDowell tweeted — and honestly, same. **More on Artemis:** [*Close Up Shows Charred NASA Capsule After Returning From the Moon*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()