The NASA-backed Peregrine One moon lander is now hurtling back towards Earth after last week failing on its historic journey.
Astrobotic, which had been hoping to land the first American-made spacecraft on the Moon in more than 50 years, predicts its spacecraft will likely burn up in the atmosphere in the next few days, the BBC reports.
Experts had been working with NASA and other space companies to find the most safe and responsible way of ending Peregrine’s mission.
“The team is currently assessing options and we will update as soon as we are able,” the company noted in a social media post.
The Peregrine Mission One (PM1), built by private U.S. space company Astrobotic, blasted into space on 8 January, as Breitbart News reported.
It was carried skywards aboard a brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur.
However, despite the smooth take off, the Peregrine spacecraft quickly hit a technical glitch.
Shortly after it separated from the rocket the spaceship experienced a fault that meant it shed “critical” amounts of fuel.
Peregrine is a small-class lunar lander. It was poised to carry out one of the first commercial missions to the Moon, and be among the first American spacecraft to land on the Moon since the Apollo program. (Astrobotic)
The brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur, lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41d at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 8, 2024, for its maiden voyage, carrying Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander. (CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)
Technicians said the planned touch down on the Moon would not be able to happen and the mission was aborted soon after.
Peregrine is the first of eight planned missions in NASA’s commercial lunar payload services initiative.
NASA hopes it can reduce the cost of future missions by sponsoring the private sector.
The last time the U.S. launched a moon-landing mission was in December 1972.