The Peregrine mission foregoes its lunar landing endeavor following a severe fuel loss deemed ‘critical.’
Astrobotic Technology, the pioneering company behind the first lunar lander launched from the United States in over five decades, has announced the abandonment of its lunar landing mission for the Peregrine spacecraft. The decision comes less than 24 hours after the spacecraft’s launch due to a critical propellant loss resulting from a fuel leak.
Shortly after the launch from Florida, Astrobotic disclosed that the Peregrine lunar lander faced challenges in positioning itself towards the sun, likely due to a propulsion issue. This misalignment prevented the spacecraft from charging its batteries initially. Although the battery problem was resolved, the company was unable to rectify the propulsion system issue.
In a statement released Monday evening, Astrobotic revealed that a fuel leak affecting the thrusters of the Peregrine lander’s attitude control system was forcing them to operate beyond their expected service life cycles, preventing the lander from maintaining a stable position. The company estimated that the thrusters could only function for an additional 40 hours at most.
The current objective is to bring Peregrine as close to lunar distance as possible before losing its ability to maintain a sun-pointing position and subsequently losing power. This development rules out the planned moon landing scheduled for February 23.
Earlier on Monday, Astrobotic had alerted about a propulsion system failure causing fuel depletion, and despite ongoing efforts to stabilize the situation, the issue persisted. Astrobotic also shared the first image of the Peregrine lander in space, revealing outer insulation layers crinkling, indicating a possible propulsion system anomaly.
Peregrine, named after the world’s fastest bird, initially had a successful launch atop a Vulcan Centaur rocket. However, the subsequent propulsion anomaly disrupted the planned lunar trajectory. Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based company, developed Peregrine under a $108 million contract with NASA, aiming to provide a cost-effective solution for lunar landings.
Astrobotic CEO John Thornton had characterized this mission as a test, emphasizing the significance of industry success rather than any specific mission. The failure poses challenges for Astrobotic’s future missions and relationships. The Peregrine lander carried scientific instruments from NASA and 15 other payloads, including commercial ones and memorials. The abandonment of the lunar landing attempt is a setback not only for Astrobotic but also for NASA and other entities with payloads aboard the Peregrine lander.
