First US moon landing mission in decades jeopardized by ‘anomaly’

Hours after blasting off on Monday, the first U.S. soft lunar landing in more than 50 years was imperiled due to a suspected “propulsion anomaly,” according to officials.

>> Read more trending news

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 2:18 a.m. aboard United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket, according to WPXI and officials with Pittsburgh-based aerospace company Astrobotic Technology. An “anomaly” in space later kept the Peregrine from pointing toward the sun and threatened its ability to make a soft landing on the moon.

NASA: ‘Each success and setback are opportunities to grow’

Update 1:35 p.m. EST Jan. 8: NASA officials acknowledged the issue reported Monday with the propulsion system of the Peregrine lander. The agency sent five payloads on the spacecraft to locate water molecules on the moon, measure radiation and gases around the lander and evaluate the lunar exosphere.

“Each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow,” Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C., said Monday in a statement. “We will use this lesson to propel our efforts to advance science, exploration, and commercial development of the Moon.”

Propulsion system failure ‘causing a critical loss of propellant’

Update 1:25 p.m. EST Jan. 8: Astrobotic said a team continues working to address a propulsion issue found in the Peregrine lander after it launched into space on Monday.

“Unfortunately, it appears the failure within the propulsion system is causing a critical loss of propellant,” the company said Monday afternoon. “The team is working to try and stabilize this loss, but given the situation, we have prioritized maximizing the science and data we can capture.

“We are currently assessing what alternative mission profiles may be feasible at this time.”

Astrobotic team investigates suspected failure in propulsion system

Update 12:40 p.m. EST Jan. 8: An Astrobotic team was able to improvise a maneuver Monday that reoriented the Peregrine’s solar panels toward the sun, allowing for its battery to charge after it reached “operationally low levels.”

“The Mission Anomaly Board continues to evaluate the data we’re receiving and is assessing the status of what we believe to be the root of the anomaly: a failure within the propulsion system,” Astrobotic said in a statement.

The company thanked people for reaching out to support the team.

‘Propulsion anomaly’ could threaten ability to soft land on moon

Update 12:35 p.m. EST Jan. 8: Officials with Astrobotic said they were investigating a suspected “propulsion anomaly that, if proven true, threatens the ability of the spacecraft to soft land on the Moon.”

Officials said the issue surfaced after propulsion systems were activated Monday. It “prevented Astrobotic from achieving a stable sun-pointing orientation.”

Original report: A commercial spacecraft lifted off Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to make the first U.S. soft landing on the lunar surface since 1972, according to Astrobotic and WPXI.

Peregrine carries a host of scientific experiments but no people, according to The Washington Post.

ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, spent a decade developing the powerful rocket, Reuters reported.

“Yee haw, I am so thrilled,” ULA CEO Tory Bruno said Monday in the company’s launch control room, according to Reuters. “This has been years of hard work. So far this has been an absolutely beautiful mission.”

Astrobotic CEO John Thornton described Monday’s launch as “a dream” during a live webcast.

“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for for 16 years,” he said. “We are on our way to the moon. ... This is the beginning of the dawn of a new era for the surface of the moon and how we think about space.”

The Peregrine is expected to reach the moon on Feb. 23 with 20 payloads from seven countries and 16 companies, WPXI reported. After landing, it will spend about 10 days gathering scientific data, according to NASA.

With the lunar lander, Astrobotic aims to be the first commercial company to reach the moon. It faces competition from Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which is planning a launch next month expected to land on the moon one day earlier than the Peregrine, on Feb. 22, the Post reported.

The missions are part of NASA’s multibillion dollar Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts back to the moon later this decade.

© 2024 Cox Media Group