2024-01-13 02:37:30
His mission is doomed to failure, but it continues. More than four days after its takeoff, and despite a fuel leak, an American company’s moon landing craft continues to operate in space as best it can – at least for the moment.
The start-up Astrobotic, having developed the Peregrine lander, was to attempt the first landing of an American device on the Moon in more than 50 years. But the company announced earlier this week that the device would not be able to land on the lunar surface as planned.
More than 350,000 km from Earth
Despite everything, the Astrobotic teams continue to look for “solutions to extend its lifespan”, declared Friday the company, which is now operating it as a vessel in order to gather as much data as possible for a future attempt. According to the young company, the anomaly encountered shortly after takeoff on Monday could come from a valve that had malfunctioned and caused the “rupture of a tank”. Result: a fuel leak affects the lander.
Astrobotic has not given up, however, and its efforts have paid off: the machine has for the moment managed to stay on its trajectory, and move more than 350,000 km away from Earth. Cargo on board, including NASA scientific instruments, successfully transmitted data. Two of them carry out in-flight radiation measurements, NASA said.
Sending a spacecraft to the Moon is not easy. I commend @Astrobotic‘s hard work, resilience, and commitment as they navigate the challenges facing their mission. With any breakthrough innovation comes rewards and risks. Each lunar endeavor expands the opportunities for us to… https://t.co/zmZD8qj0P1
— Dr. Nicky Fox (@NASAScienceAA) January 11, 2024
“Sending a ship to the Moon is not easy,” Nicky Fox, associate administrator at NASA in charge of scientific missions, wrote on X (ex-Twitter). “I salute the hard work, tenacity and commitment of Astrobotic as they face the challenges of their mission. » How the lander will end its adventure is not yet clear, although some space buffs are speculating about a possible crash on the lunar surface.
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