Peregrine mission abandons moon landing attempt after suffering ‘critical’ fuel loss

Carrying NASA scientific instruments as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander launched on United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket at 2:18 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Peregrine has about a 46-day journey to reach the lunar surface.

Astrobotic Technology, the company that developed the first lunar lander to launch from the United States in five decades, said it is abandoning an attempt to put its Peregrine spacecraft on the moon less than 24 hours after the vehicle took flight.

The spacecraft has suffered “critical” propellant loss from a fuel leak, according to the company.

Just hours after the vehicle launched from Florida toward the moon early Monday morning, Astrobotic announced the mission was in jeopardy. The lunar lander, dubbed Peregrine, was unable to place itself in a position facing the sun, likely because of a propulsion issue, according to Astrobotic. That wayward orientation prevented the spacecraft from charging its batteries.

Read the article: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/08/world/peregrine-lunar-lander-anomaly-astrobotic-nasa-scn/index.html

Know more about this mission: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/clps/nasa-sending-five-payloads-to-moon-on-astrobotics-peregrine-lander/  

Source: Peregrine mission abandons moon landing attempt after suffering ‘critical’ fuel loss – Scents of Science (myfusimotors.com)