United States: The first US lunar lander launched into space in more than 50 years gave up its ambitions of landing on the Moon after it experienced a “critical” fuel leak on Tuesday.
The corporation stated that there was “no chance of a soft landing on the Moon,” citing the propellant fuel leak.
“The team has updated its estimates, and we currently expect to run out of propellant in about 40 hours from now – an improvement from last night’s estimate” The Business added.
Peregrine, a robotic lander created by the private business Astrobotic, has been experiencing severe technical issues since its launch on Monday.
Astrobotic was able to position the lander toward the sun for solar charge shortly after launch, while a crew probed a “failure in the propulsion system.”
However, it immediately became clear that a “critical loss of fuel” was occurring, casting doubt on the planned lunar landing on February 23.
The company acknowledged that the fuel leak persisted and predicted that the lander would lose solar power within 40 hours.
However, Peregrine will continue to operate as a spaceship, according to the corporation.
“We continue receiving valuable data and providing spaceflight operations for components and software relating to our next lunar lander missions, Griffin,” The Business said.
Despite the failure, NASA’s Joel Kearns emphasized that employing private businesses for lunar deliveries has additional risks but is a more cost-effective and faster option, according to the report by the Associated Press.

He emphasized that the space agency was willing to take that risk, stating on Monday that “each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow.”
The last US moon landing mission occurred in December 1972, signaling the end of the Apollo era. The new Artemis program seeks to send astronauts back to the Moon’s surface within the next few years, beginning with a lunar fly-around.
More about the Peregrine Mission 1
Peregrine Mission 1 (TO2-AB), also known as the Peregrine Lunar Lander, was scheduled to land on Sinus Viscositatis with research and other payloads. The mission’s scientific objectives are to investigate the lunar exosphere, thermal characteristics and hydrogen abundance in lunar regolith, magnetic fields, and the radiation environment. It will also conduct tests on sophisticated solar arrays.
Peregrine Mission 1 was chosen under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) strategy, which involves NASA contracting with a commercial partner, in this case Astrobotic, to deliver the launch and lander.
Mission Profile
On January 8, 2024, at 07:18 UT, a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket in the VC2S type was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, powered by two GEM-63XL solid boosters, a conventional short faring, and two RL10 engines in the Centaur upper stage. However, a “failure within the propulsion system” occurred, according to an Astrobotic message.
Astrobotic has released a statement saying, “At this time, the goal is to get Peregrine as close to the lunar distance as we can before it loses the ability to maintain its Sun-pointing position and, as a result, loses power,” implying that the original planned Moon landing will be impossible.
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