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Peregrine lander: Technical hitch threatens US Moon mission

bbc.com · 788 words · saved by 1 readers

The Astrobotic company behind the project says its Peregrine spacecraft has experienced an "anomaly" that has stopped it from pointing its solar panels stably at the Sun. Without the ability to charge its battery, the mission's plan to land on the Moon is in danger. Astrobotic said engineers were working on the issue and would provide updates when it had more information. The 1.2-tonne lander was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a Vulcan rocket. It is aiming to become the first American mission in half a century to make a soft landing on the Moon - first commercial endeavour to do so. The US space agency has purchased capacity on the lander for five instruments to study the lunar environment ahead of sending astronauts later this decade. Astrobotic said the mission started to encounter problems as it was being put through post-launch checks. The issue occurred after communications had been established with Peregrine and all its systems had been powered up. Peregrine was strugg

Peregrine lander: Time running out for US Moon mission 9 January 2024 Share Save Add as preferred on Google Jonathan Amos Science correspondent Astrobotic Artwork: How Astrobotic envisioned Peregrine on the lunar surface The American company that launched a mission on Monday to try to soft-land on the Moon says it may not be able to control its spacecraft for much longer. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic is fighting a fuel leak from its Peregrine lander, which is making it hard to maintain stable pointing of the spacecraft. Mission life could now be measured in just hours, the firm said. Certainly,

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