The 1.2-tonne Peregrine spacecraft is one of a clutch of US projects aiming to land in 2024.Image: ASTROBOTIC
US private Moon mission encounters difficulties with its Peregrine lander.
There have been technical issues with the US Moon mission, which was launched privately on Monday.
The project’s parent company, Astrobotic, claims that a “anomaly” on board the Peregrine spacecraft has prevented it from steadily orienting its solar panels towards the Sun.
The mission cannot continue if batteries cannot be charged and a power source cannot be maintained.
According to Astrobotic, engineers are addressing the problem and will update as more details become available.
A Vulcan rocket carrying the 1.2-ton lander was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
There have been technical issues with the US Moon mission, which was launched privately on Monday.
The project’s parent company, Astrobotic, claims that a “anomaly” on board the Peregrine spacecraft has prevented it from steadily orienting its solar panels towards the Sun.
The mission cannot continue if batteries cannot be charged and a power source cannot be maintained.
According to Astrobotic, engineers are addressing the problem and will update as more details become available.
A Vulcan rocket carrying the 1.2-ton lander was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
After the expedition had been underway for seven hours, Astrobotic provided an update.
It reported that all systems had been powered up and were operating as intended, and that communications had been established with Peregrine, suggesting that everything was progressing according to plan.
After that, something went wrong that kept Astrobotic from reaching a stable Sun-pointing orientation.
According to the corporate statement, “The team is reacting in real time as the situation develops and will be providing updates as more data is obtained and analysed.”
Technical difficulties are common for spacecraft, and Astrobotic engineers will have practiced responding to a wide range of problem scenarios.
Additionally, the spacecraft will have been designed to prioritise power and communications back to Earth in order to defend itself during such incidents.