Morpheus is Back and Looking Good!

Another Successful Project Morpheus Test

Morpheus is back and looking good! This Morpheus, however, is not the file sharing program, nor is it the Laurence Fishburne character from “The Matrix” franchise. This Morpheus is an experimental lander under development by NASA.

Morpheus is currently being tested at NASA’s VTB Flight Complex at the Johnson Space Center. I have to say… this drone (spacecraft) looks like something from the SyFy channel complete with a retro 50’s look.

Morpheus has just completed another Free Flight test and the video below is just amazing!

A Few Facts About Morpheus

• Planetary lander
• Vertical takeoff and landing craft
• Cargo capability of 1,100 pounds
• Fueled by a Methane and Liquid Oxygen (LOX) propulsion system
• Has an onboard computer AI system for autonomous landing and hazard avoidance

In flight, Morpheus reminds me of SpaceX’s Grasshopper. However, grasshopper is 10 stories tall and has a slightly different mission in space.

I’ll post more about this project in the future.