US Private Sector's First Moon Lander Faces Failure Risk: "Severe Fuel Loss"

'Peregrine' Technical Failure Identified as Cause
NYT Questions NASA Strategy

[Image source=UPI Yonhap News]

The world's first private lunar lander, 'Peregrine,' is facing the risk of failure.

On the 8th (local time), Astrobotic announced via social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that "a serious fuel loss occurred due to a propulsion system issue."

The 1.9-meter-tall Peregrine was launched at 2:18 a.m. from the United States' Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex in Florida, aboard United Launch Alliance (ULA)'s Vulcan Centaur rocket. Peregrine was scheduled to land on Sinus Viscositatis, a lava plain northeast of Mare Imbrium on the near side of the Moon, on the 23rd of next month. Additionally, if the lander successfully touched down on the Moon, it would have been recorded as the world's first private lunar exploration vehicle, raising great expectations.

However, due to technical defects confirmed after launch, there are assessments that a successful landing may be difficult.

There are two main causes. First, about seven hours after launch, it was discovered that Peregrine's solar panels were not properly oriented toward the Sun. This issue arose during the launch process, and although Astrobotic succeeded in operating the solar panels correctly afterward, another problem of fuel loss occurred. Astrobotic added, "We are currently reviewing alternatives to determine what missions are possible under the current conditions."

This marks the first time in over 51 years since December 1972, when Apollo 17?the last manned lunar mission?explored the lunar surface. The Peregrine lander carries scientific instruments to investigate the Moon's surface composition and radiation, as well as a shoebox-sized small exploration robot developed by Carnegie Mellon University in the United States. NASA paid Astrobotic $108 million in exchange for delivering NASA equipment and others to the Moon aboard the Peregrine lander.

American space companies, led by NASA, plan to attempt lunar landings five times this year alone. Astrobotic plans to launch an additional lander, Griffin, by the end of this year. Griffin will carry a NASA rover designed to study lunar ice deposits. Next month, another lander from the space company Intuitive Machines will be launched.

The New York Times reported, "This failure raises questions about NASA's strategy of relying on small private startups to send scientific experiments to the lunar surface." Joel Kouns, deputy director of NASA's Science Mission Directorate's Exploration Division, said, "Both success and failure are opportunities to learn and grow."

Countries around the world are entering the lunar landing race. India succeeded in landing on the Moon last year, and Japan plans to land its first lunar probe, 'SLIM,' launched into space last September, later this month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.