NASA Abandons Lunar Flashlight Probe's Ice Mission

NASA has abandoned the mission of its Lunar Flashlight cubesat, which aimed to search for water ice in shadowy craters near the moon's south pole. The briefcase-sized spacecraft failed to generate enough thrust to reach lunar orbit due to problems with its propulsion system. However, most of the probe's systems are still functioning well, and NASA could end up assigning it a new task. The mission team also successfully tested Lunar Flashlight's four-laser reflectometer, suggesting that it could indeed have spotted water ice on the floors of moon craters.