New Zealand May Lead Artemis Moon Fleet with Orbital Wayfinder CAPSTONE Cubesat in March
Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment now scheduled to be first probe in USA-led Artemis Return to Moon; Launching to Earth orbit on Electron from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 located on Māhia NZ (39.2°S, 177.8°E) NET March under US$9.95M NASA contract; 12U, 25-kg cubesat will be delivered to TLI via Photon Kick Stage after 9-day elliptical orbit raising; 1600 x 70000 km polar near rectilinear halo orbit around Moon may provide optimal trajectory with minimal corrections (under 10 m/s ∆v) achievable with Maxar solar / electric propulsion element for Gateway (NET 2024)