The mission of the first commercial lunar lander, Peregrine, by Astrobotic, may end in failure due to a propulsion system failure. Unfortunately, the failure resulted in a critical fuel loss, posing a serious problem for the mission’s progress.
The team is currently working on stabilizing the losses, but due to the situation, they have decided to focus on gathering as much scientific data as possible. Astrobotic has also released a photo of the vehicle in space, showing the “anomaly” in the propulsion system.
The Peregrine mission combines scientific and commercial objectives. On board the lander are instruments and experiments from NASA, as well as payloads from other institutions and companies. This mission aligns with NASA’s plan to reduce the costs of sending payloads to the Moon as part of establishing a sustained human presence on our natural satellite.
Astrobotic received $108 million from NASA for transporting 14 payloads to the Moon. There is also a contract worth nearly $200 million for transporting the VIPER rover to the lunar south pole. The planned date for executing this mission is November 2024.
The Peregrine lander’s propulsion system failure is a significant concern for the entire mission. Astrobotic is currently exploring alternative mission profiles, but there is no certainty whether the original objective of landing on the Moon will be achieved.
Source: Space24.pl
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