This spectrometer was set to be the first-ever European tech on the moon. But it might never get there

A US rocket carrying the first ever European-built tech set to land on the moon successfully launched in the early hours of Monday morning. Known as an Exospheric Mass Spectrometer (EMS), the tech is a crucial component of the Peregrine Lunar Lander. Yesterday, the lander was propelled into space aboard a Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral space station. The EMS will explore the Moon’s atmosphere, by measuring water and other molecules, unlocking the mysteries of its water cycle. British scientists at The Open University and RAL Space, the UK’s national space lab, developed the sensor with £14mn in funding from…

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