Astrobotic’s Peregrine Moon Lander Sends Home Selfie With Earth in the Distance
The Peregrine moon lander, launched by Astrobotic, has beamed home another in-space selfie, this time capturing a sliver of its home planet. The image, posted on X by Astrobotic on Tuesday afternoon, shows one of the Peregrine moon lander’s legs and the Pocari Sweet Lunar Dream Time Capsule, placed on board by the Japanese company Astroscale. Astrobotic confirmed that the sliver seen in the upper right corner of the photo is indeed Earth, not a lens flare.
The Pocari capsule, which was the first payload under contract with Astrobotic, contains messages from children around the world. However, the lander encountered a problem shortly after deployment from the rocket’s upper stage. It began leaking propellant, preventing it from attempting a planned moon landing on February 23. The leak is believed to have been caused by a stuck valve, leading to a ruptured oxidizer tank.
Despite the setback, the lander is still en route to the moon’s neighborhood, currently about 80% of the way there, approximately 192,000 miles from Earth. It is expected to reach the moon in about 15 days post-launch. The lander is carrying 20 payloads for a variety of customers, including NASA, which contributed five science instruments through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
The successful completion of this mission would have marked the first private spacecraft to softly land on the moon. However, the mission team remains optimistic and determined to overcome the challenges that have arisen.