After more than five decades, the American mission to land on the moon is about to fail. This mission was launched on January 8 by a private company under the aegis of NASA.
Astrobiotic Technology's Peregrine lander was launched to the moon by the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket. But shortly after launch, the mission suffered a major setback when the spacecraft started leaking fuel.
Astrobiotic says it will try to get the lander as close to the moon before the spacecraft shuts down. According to the company, the spacecraft's propulsion system may have malfunctioned, causing the fuel to leak.
The company was supposed to try to land the lander on the moon on February 23, but due to a malfunction in the spacecraft, efforts are now being made to collect as much data as possible.
The mission conveyed 20 payloads of US government and confidential clients to the moon. The spacecraft was successfully launched into space by a rocket from Florida.
However, after separation from the rocket, the fuel started leaking when the propulsion system was activated. Astrobiotic directed the spacecraft's solar panels toward the sun to charge the lander's batteries. However, due to fuel leakage, the mission can now travel only until January 11.
This mission is unlikely to reach the moon, and thus the attempt to land the first US mission to the moon since 1972 is doomed to fail. But Astrobiotic will send five more missions to the moon during 2024.
According to the company, $450 million has been raised so far from government and commercial contracts for the second mission.