Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is seen during preparations for launch near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
United Launch Alliance
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic’s inaugural lunar mission suffered a malfunction shortly after launch, and the company is calling off the landing attempt.
It would have been the first U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years.
Astrobotic said late Monday that the goal for its Peregrine moon lander is now to get “as close to lunar distance as we can” before the spacecraft begins tumbling and loses power. The company suspects the malfunction was a failure within the spacecraft’s propulsion system, causing a leak that is quickly draining the vehicle of fuel.
The company had aimed to make a moon landing attempt on Feb. 23, but in light of the propulsion problem has since been “maximizing the science and data we can capture,” the company said in a post on social media platform X.
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2024-01-09 10:45:25
Article from www.cnbc.com