The U.S. civilian lunar lander suffered a fuel leak during its journey and is now heading toward Earth, where it will likely burn up in the atmosphere, the company announced Saturday.
Astrobotic has been posting regular updates on the Peregrine lander’s status since the start of its ill-fated voyage, which began on January 8 with a brand-new Vulcan rocket built by United Launch Alliance. Ta.
Immediately after separation from the rocket, the spacecraft exploded onboard, and it soon became clear that a soft touchdown to the Moon would be impossible due to the amount of propellant that would be lost, but Astrobotic’s team Although it was able to enhance experiments, it was being transported and collecting spaceflight data for NASA and other space agencies.
“Based on our latest assessment, the spacecraft is on a path toward Earth and will likely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere,” the Pittsburgh-based company said in a post.
“The team is currently considering options and will update as soon as possible.”
The boxy robot has been in space for more than five days and is currently 242,000 miles (390,000 kilometers) from Earth, Astrobotic added.
Space observers were closely tracking Peregrine’s orbit, and many expected it might make a “hard landing” on the moon, like other landers that have failed before. . But it is now clear that even that scaled-back goal is unattainable.
In addition to scientific hardware, the spacecraft carries cargo for Astrobotic’s private customers, including cans of sports drinks, physical Bitcoin, and even human and animal ashes and DNA.
Astrobotic is the latest private company to fail in a soft landing, following an Israeli nonprofit and a Japanese company.
NASA had paid Astrobotic more than $100 million to transport cargo under an experimental program called Commercial Lunar Payload Services. The overall goal is to seed a commercial lunar economy and reduce its own overhead costs.
Although it didn’t work out this time, NASA officials have revealed a strategy that “more shots on goal” means more chances to score, and Houston-based Intuitive Machines The next attempt will begin in February.
Astrobotic itself will get another chance in November with the Griffin lander, which will carry NASA’s VIPER spacecraft to the moon’s south pole.
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