How NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer was lost before reaching the Moon

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission ended abruptly after losing contact with the spacecraft one day post-launch. The satellite, meant to map lunar water, experienced a failure that misaligned its solar arrays, draining its batteries. Despite global efforts to recover the spacecraft as it drifted beyond the Moon, communication became impossible. NASA considers this a learning opportunity for future small satellite missions, with some of its technology continuing in future lunar instruments.