Lunar lander may have more life left than previously thought
- The lander experienced an anomaly after launch
- It's leaking propellant, scuttling plans for a moon landing
- Astrobotic is working to gather as much data as possible
The brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur, lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41d at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 8, 2024, for its maiden voyage, carrying Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander. The mission, called Cert-1, will also carry on board the cremated remains of several people associated with the original “Star Trek” series, including creator Gene Roddenberry and cast member Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed the character Uhura. Roddenberry’s ashes have been launched into orbit before. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
Testing on staging11
(NewsNation) — The Peregrine lunar lander is exceeding earlier predictions and may have more life left than previously thought, giving scientists more time to gather data.
After a successful launch, the lander experienced an anomaly that prevented it from orienting correctly toward the sun to charge its battery. Astrobotic reported that the issue originated with the propulsion system, causing a critical loss of propellant.
The company and NASA scrubbed plans for the lander to make it to the moon’s surface as the propulsion issue would prevent a soft landing. However, the company said it was working to gather as much data as possible while the lander still functioned.
Astrobotic originally said Peregrine had 40 hours of life remaining.
In a recent update on X, formerly known as Twitter, the company said its team has been able to extend the life, and the propellant leak has slowed. Peregrine is now thought to have around 52 hours remaining, and Astrobotic said engineers were working to extend that further.
The launch was the first in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which partners with private businesses to reduce the cost of developing robotic landers.
After the anomaly, NASA announced it was pushing back the expected launch dates for Artemis 2, which would put astronauts in lunar orbit, and Artemis 3, which would land astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972.