A spacecraft which was heading for the moon, carrying a piece of Mount Everest, scientific experiments, messages from Earth and human remains, suffered a "critical loss of propellant", the company behind it said. The first US lunar lander in more than 50 years developed by a private company called Astrobotic Technology, lifted off at 2:18 am local time from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket. They stated that there has been a "failure within the propulsion system", as per Sky News.
The company added that after separating from its booster, the lander faced an issue which was likely caused by a propulsion failure that prevented it from "achieving a stable sun-pointing orientation" to charge its onboard battery. The company plans to land on the moon on February 23. The lander is currently travelling in a roundabout manner towards the moon.
Multi-layer insulation (MLI) was reportedly "disturbed" in the first photograph of the Peregrine from orbit, according to Astrobotic. This is the first visual that is consistent with their data, indicating a propulsion system malfunction. The company reported that after running low and going through a "blackout" in communication earlier, the spacecraft's battery is now completely charged and they are "using Peregrine's existing power to perform as many payload and spacecraft operations as possible". To enable the battery to recharge, the scientists employed an "improvised manoeuvre" to direct Peregrine's "solar array" in the direction of the sun.
American space agency NASA took to X and said "Space is hard". They added, "We are working with @Astrobotic to identify the root cause of the propulsion issue and evaluate how it affects NASA's five science investigations aboard the spacecraft."
In the latest update, posted just minutes ago, Astrobotic Technology said that "an ongoing propellant leak is causing the spacecraft's Attitude Control System (ACS) thrusters to operate well beyond their expected service life cycles to keep the lander from an uncontrollable tumble".
They stated that if thrusters continued their operations, Peregrine "could continue in a stable sun pointing state for approximately 40 more hours". They added, "At this time, the goal is to get Peregrine as close to lunar distance as we can before it loses the ability to maintain its sun-pointing position and subsequently loses power."
It seemed to launch into space as scheduled, and it is supposed to be the first US spacecraft to set foot on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The space logistics start-up was paid $108 million for five scientific instruments to be carried to the moon and is also carrying the remains of 'Star Trek' cast members and the DNA of former US presidents including John F Kennedy.
