Pittsburgh-based aerospace company Astrobotic Technology on Tuesday confirmed it has given up on its planned soft moon landing following a propellant leak in space.
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 2:18 a.m. on Tuesday aboard United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket, according to WPXI and Astrobotic. Officials said they later identified an “anomaly” in space that kept the Peregrine from pointing toward the sun.
The issue was determined to be an apparent failure in the spacecraft’s propulsion system that caused “a critical loss of propellant.”
“Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the Moon,” the company said Tuesday in a statement.
“However, we do still have enough propellant to continue to operate the vehicle as a spacecraft. The team has updated its estimates, and we currently expect to run out of propellant in about 40 hours from now — an improvement from last night’s estimate. The team continues to work to find ways to extend Peregrine’s operational life.”
Update #7 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/qAPcChVROO
— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 9, 2024
Earlier Tuesday, Astrobotic said the propellant leak was “causing the spacecraft’s Attitude Control System (ACS) thrusters to operate well beyond their expected service life cycles to keep the lander from an uncontrollable tumble.”
“At this time, the goal is to get Peregrine as close to lunar distance as we can before it loses the ability to maintain its sun-pointing position and subsequently loses power,” company officials said.
The Peregrine mission is part of NASA’s multibillion dollar Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts back to the moon later this decade.
The lunar lander was expected to reach the moon on Feb. 23 with 20 payloads from seven countries and 16 companies, WPXI reported. Among those were five payloads sent by NASA that were aimed at locating water molecules on the moon, measuring radiation and gases around the lander and evaluating the lunar exosphere.
On Thursday, NASA officials said they were working with Astrobotic to determine the impact on the science investigations.
“There are many challenges with spaceflight, and we’re incredibly proud of the Astrobotic and NASA teams that have put us one step closer to a robotic return to the lunar surface as part of Artemis,” Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said Thursday in a statement.
“This delivery service model is a first for the agency and with something new, there is a higher risk. NASA is committed to supporting our commercial vendors as they navigate the very difficult task of sending science and technology to the surface of the Moon.”
Next month, another mission included in the Artemis program is set to blast off. Houston-based Intuitive Machines plans to launch a spacecraft expected to reach the moon on Feb. 22, The Washington Post reported.
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