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The first photo ever taken by Astrobotic’s Peregrine moon lander in space, shared via X on Jan. 8, 2024.
(Image credit: Astrobotic via X)
Seconds after its launch last week, Astrobotic’s Peregrine, a private moon lander, experienced a fuel leak. Saturday (Jan. 13) it was announced that the lander is on its way back to Earth on a collision course, as stated by its developer.
Peregrine was launched into space on Jan. 8 with the purpose of landing on the moon, however, the fuel leak forced Astrobotic to abandon this plan. The company has been scrambling to salvage the lander, but recently determined that it is on a trajectory towards Earth which could potentially lead to its disintegration in our planet’s atmosphere.
“Our analysis efforts have been challenging due to the propellant leak, which have been adding uncertainty to predictions of the vehicle’s trajectory,” Astrobotic wrote in an update on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. “Our latest assessment now shows the spacecraft is on a path towards Earth, where it will likely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
While there is no expected date for the next move, the spacecraft which is currently around 242,000 miles (389,000 kilometers from Earth and just beyond the orbit of the moon. The engineers and experts continue to scramble to make the situation salvageable.
Related: Private Peregrine moon lander failure won’t stop NASA’s ambitious commercial lunar program
Astrobotic’s private Peregrine moon lander reached the distance of the moon on Jan. 12, 2024 as engineers fight for its survival, though the moon was at a different part of its orbit. (Image credit: Astrobotic)
An ambitious mission, Peregrine lander is the first U.S. private moon lander to carry out this mission. Under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payloads Services program and it has carried out a variety of payloads including NASA experiments and commercial ones. To the moon, Peregrine also transported some human remains from Celestis and Elysium Space for a moon burial, also a world’s first achievement.
Despite the failed attempt, and the fuel leak, Peregrine has defied odds and has made it close to the moon on Jan. 12, but the same moon is in a different orbit so it cannot achieve its goal. At this point, engineers are trying to extend its life until alternative solutions can be implemented to save the mission.
“The propellant leak has slowed considerably to a point where it is no longer the team’s top priority,” Astrobotic said in its update, adding that a soft moon landing was still not possible.
A press conference will be held on Thursday (Jan. 18) for the latest development of the mission and data details.
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