The Project Morpheus beta prototype lander is seen after it landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Morpheus launched from the ground over a flame trench on its fifth free flight test at around 1 p.m. EST. This is the program's seventh free flight overall. It ascended 467 feet, more than 160 feet higher than its last test. Morpheus flew forward, covering 637 feet in 30 seconds before descending on target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload will allow it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit.
<bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q117448892" class="extiw" title="d:Q117448892"><span title="NASA photographer">Kim Shiflett</span></a>
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