Before a spacecraft leaves Earth, engineers must know whether it can survive the journey. A lander called Griffin-1 has passed important tests at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The tests copied extreme heat, cold and the near-empty conditions of space. Engineers also exposed the craft to strong shaking and loud noise, like those during launch.
NASA reported the results on October 13. Voyager Technologies' lander is planned to carry ten science and technology demonstrations from six countries. Its cargo includes a rover. The destination is near the Moon's south pole. Passing ground tests is an important step, but it is not a successful Moon landing. The vehicle still needs to make the journey and reach the surface safely.