Hayabusa lander: Time runs out for US moon mission

The American company, which launched a mission to attempt a soft landing on the moon on Monday, says it may be some time before it can take control of the rover.

Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic is battling a fuel leak from the Peregrine lander that is making it difficult to maintain a stable orientation for the spacecraft.

Mission longevity can now be measured in just a few hours, the company said.

Indeed, it is no longer possible for the United States to land on the moon for the first time in half a century.

“The goal now is to get Hayabusa as close to the moon as possible before it loses the ability to maintain its sun-facing position and subsequently loses power,” Astrobotic’s statement said. ing.

The 1.2-ton lander was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with the aim of landing in the moon’s northern hemisphere in late February.

The US Space Agency (NASA) had purchased lander capacity to study the lunar environment ahead of sending astronauts to the moon in late 2010.

Peregrine ran into trouble as soon as he popped out of the top of the launch vehicle.

Engineers noticed that the would-be lunar module was having trouble keeping its solar panels pointed toward the sun to charge its batteries.

The cause was quickly determined to be due to a major leak in the propulsion system that threw Peregrine out of alignment.

To maintain proper orientation during flight, Peregrine’s thrusters now have to work overtime, consuming more of its dwindling fuel supply.

Astrobotic calculates that the spacecraft will have two days’ worth of propellant left before its reserves are exhausted and the spacecraft begins to tip over.

When that moment arrives, Peregrine, whose solar panels no longer collect sunlight, rapidly loses power.

Astrobotic is the first of three U.S. companies to send landers to the moon this year under a new public-private partnership with NASA.

The agency is acquiring transportation services from the Pittsburgh company and two other commercial ventures, Intuitive Machines and Firefly. Together, the three were planning six missions to the moon in 2024. Astrobotic plans to deliver a NASA rover to Earth’s natural satellite toward the end of the year.

All three US companies may have NASA as a major “customer,” but NASA is not in charge of their projects. The companies themselves design the spacecraft and direct the mission. And companies are free to sell additional payload space to anyone who wants to buy it.

For example, Peregrine is carrying several small rovers for groups in the United States and Mexico. The ship is loaded with human and even dog remains. The small capsule contains the ashes of dozens of people, including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and his wife Majel, who provided the voice of the computers on the USS Enterprise.

NASA believes new lunar partnerships with the private sector will introduce further innovation and reduce costs over time. And officials say they are prepared for some of these missions to fail.

Deputy administrator Pam Melroy said in an interview with the BBC last month: “What we’ve learned from our commercial partners is that if you have a high enough cadence, you can alleviate some of the very costly and risky requirements. That’s true.” And even if they fail, they will learn and succeed next time. ”

Of course, it would be frustrating for everyone involved in the Peregrine project to see it fail.

Dr. Simeon Barber of the Open University in the UK led the development of sensors for NASA’s instruments aboard the spacecraft. He told BBC News: “We started working on this particular project in 2019 and it’s been four years. This instrument was built through a pandemic and it’s been tough. “There are inherent risks with that method. We know it’s more difficult.” It’s important to do things right the first time. Therefore, the whole point of any future fleet conducting missions to the moon is to increase the chances of success. ”