Space & Astronomy

Peregrine lander's bid to land on the Moon scuppered by fuel leak

By T.K. Randall
January 9, 2024 ·  64 comments

The first image taken by the spacecraft in space. Image Credit: Astrobotic / Twitter / X The spacecraft, which is the first US-built lunar lander to launch since the Apollo program and also the first commercial spacecraft ever to attempt a soft-landing on the Moon, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Monday with the goal of eventually touching down on the Moon's northern hemisphere late next month.

Its extensive payload includes two rovers (one from the Mexican Space Agency and another from Carnegie Mellon University), a host of scientific instruments and even the DNA of US President John F Kennedy.

It wasn't long after the launch, however, that it became apparent that something was wrong as the spacecraft struggled to correctly align its solar panels towards the Sun.

The cause, it turned out, was a major propulsion system leak.As things stand, Peregrine's fuel is likely to run out within just two days and it will no longer be possible for it to attempt a landing on the lunar surface.

"An ongoing propellant leak is 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," Astrobiotic wrote in a statement on Twitter.

"If the thrusters can continue to operate, we believe the spacecraft could continue in a stable sun-pointing state for approximately 40 hours, based on current fuel consumption."

"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."


Source: BBC News | Comments (64)

Tags: Peregrine, Moon