2024-01-09 19:34:02
First image of Peregrine in space – ASTROBOTIC
MADRID, 9 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, the first US mission to the Moon in more than 50 years, will not be able to fulfill its mission as a result of fuel loss.
“Unfortunately, given the propellant leak, there is no chance of a soft landing on the Moon“, the company reported in a update of communications spread after the propulsion problem recorded after the ship separated from the Vulcan rocket with which it was launched on January 8 from Florida.
Equipped with a batch of NASA instruments, Its objective was to study for ten days starting with a landing on February 23 the lunar exosphere, the thermal properties of the lunar regolith, the abundance of hydrogen in the soil at the landing site and to monitor ambient radiation.
Despite the failure, the batteries have been able to be charged with energy received from the solar panels, an image has been received that shows part of the ship (above) and Astrobotic affirms that the mission “retains enough propellant to continue using the vehicle as a spacecraft.”
“The team has updated their estimates and we currently expect to run out of propellant in about 40 hours from now, an improvement over the initial estimate. The team continues to work to find ways to extend the operational life of Peregrine“adds the statement.
Peregrine converted this January 8 in the first American commercial lunar lander to launch on a mission to the Moon. Shortly after spacecraft separation, Peregrine experienced a propulsion problem. The privately designed and developed spacecraft uses novel technology developed by industry, part of which has never flown into space.
Copies of four of NASA’s payloads aboard Peregrine are expected to fly on future flightsincluding the laser retroreflector array, the near-infrared volatile spectrometer system, the neutron spectrometer system, and the linear energy transfer spectrometer.
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