PITTSBURGH, PA – The hopes of a successful moon landing were dashed for the Peregrine 1, the first US moon lander in 50 years, due to a fuel leak. Astrobotic, the company behind the project, announced that their main goal now is to travel as far as possible before losing power.
The critical loss of propellant occurred shortly after lift-off on Monday, caused by an anomaly in the propulsion system. Despite initial concerns that the spacecraft would not be able to charge its batteries by orienting towards the sun, Astrobotic reported that an improvised maneuver successfully enabled the solar array to function.
However, the company later stated that the thrusters could only operate for approximately 40 more hours at most. As a result, their objective is to bring Peregrine as close to lunar distance as possible before losing the ability to maintain its sun-pointing position and running out of power.
In a recent update, Astrobotic confirmed that the damaged spacecraft has “no chance of a soft landing on the moon.” The revised mission is now focused on gathering data from Peregrine 1, which could be valuable for future lunar landing trips.
The lander, carrying NASA scientific equipment, was launched on the Vulcan Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral. This marked the first use of the powerful new rocket built by United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed venture.
Peregrine was scheduled to land on the moon on February 23, where it would have collected data about the lunar surface to aid in research for upcoming human missions. The instruments on board include devices for measuring radiation levels, surface and subsurface water ice, the magnetic field, and the exosphere, a thin layer of gas. Additionally, five small moon rovers, each weighing less than 60g and measuring 12cm across, are part of the payload.
Aside from scientific equipment, the lander also carries non-scientific payloads. These include DNA samples from former US presidents such as George Washington, John F. Kennedy, and Dwight Eisenhower, as well as the ashes of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, and former stars of the TV series.
NASA has expressed its commitment to working with Astrobotic to investigate the root cause of the propulsion problem. The space agency acknowledged that “space is hard” in response to reports of the lander’s failure.
As the Peregrine 1 lander falls short of its intended landing, its operators strive to extract as much scientific value as possible from the mission. Despite setbacks, the mission serves as a stepping stone towards future lunar exploration efforts.