Astrobotic’s ambitious mission to soft-land the Peregrine moon lander on the lunar surface is hanging by a thread. The spacecraft has encountered a critical fuel loss.
The Peregrine moon lander was part of a collaborative effort with two other commercial ventures, Intuitive Machines and Firefly. They planned a total of six lunar surface missions in 2024.
These missions aimed to advance lunar research in preparation for crewed visits to the moon through NASA’s Artemis program later this decade.
The latest mission update from the private American company, issued on Monday evening (Jan. 8), revealed that the Peregrine lander now has just 40 hours of fuel remaining, putting the entire mission at risk.
The mission marked the inaugural launch of the United Launch Alliance’s advanced Vulcan Centaur rocket. Unfortunately, trouble struck shortly after the spacecraft deployed from the rocket’s Centaur upper stage.
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