The first US moon landing attempt in more than 50 years appears to be doomed after a private company’s spacecraft developed a “critical” fuel leak just hours after Monday’s launch.
Private company Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology estimated that the lander, carrying a piece of technology developed by UK scientists, would start losing power in about 40 hours.
The company had managed to orient its lander, named Peregrine, towards the sun so the solar panel could collect sunlight and charge its battery, as a team assessed the status of what was termed “a failure in the propulsion system”.
It soon became apparent, however, that there was “a critical loss of fuel”, further dimming hope for what had been a planned moon landing on February 23.
Update #6 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/lXh9kcubXs
Advertisement— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 9, 2024
Onboard is an instrument known as the Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS), which was developed in the UK by scientists from The Open University (OU) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) RAL Space – the UK’s national space lab – in collaboration with Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Washington DC.
The trouble was reported about seven hours after Monday’s pre-dawn liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket provided the lift for Peregrine, putting it on a long, roundabout path to the moon.
A propulsion system problem “threatens the ability of the spacecraft to soft land on the moon”, the company said. The lander is equipped with engines and thrusters for manoeuvring, not only during the cruise to the moon but for lunar descent.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the company said: “Unfortunately, it appears the failure within the propulsion system is causing a critical loss of propellant.
“The team is working to try and stabilise this loss, but given the situation, we have prioritised maximising the science and data we can capture.
“We are currently assessing what alternative mission profiles may be feasible at this time.”
Astrobotic released a photo from a lander-mounted camera, which the company said showed a “disturbance” in a section of thermal insulation. That aligns with what is known so far of the problem, the company said.
Astrobotic was aiming to be the first private business to successfully land on the moon, something only four countries have accomplished. A second lander from a Houston company is due to launch next month. Nasa gave the two companies millions to build and fly their own lunar landers.
The space agency wants the privately owned landers to scope out the area before astronauts arrive while delivering tech and science experiments for the space agency, other countries and universities.
Astrobotic’s contract with Nasa for the Peregrine lander was 108 million dollars (£85 million) and it has more in the pipeline.
Before the flight, Nasa’s Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, noted that while using private companies to make deliveries to the moon will be cheaper and quicker than going the usual government route, there will be added risk.
He stressed that the space agency was willing to accept that risk, noting Monday: “Each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow.”
A key component of PITMS, which will explore the Moon’s atmosphere by measuring water and other molecules, was developed in the UK with £14 million of Government funding through the UK’s membership of the European Space Agency.
The data collected will contribute to our understanding of the Moon’s potential to provide resources such as water, opening new possibilities for future human presence on the lunar surface.
The UK-built component – called the Exospheric Mass Spectrometer – represents the first instrument on the Moon that has been built in the UK and in Europe.
The last time the US launched a moon-landing mission was in December 1972. Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt became the 11th and 12th men to walk on the moon.
The space agency’s new Artemis programme looks to return astronauts to the moon’s surface within the next few years. First will be a lunar fly-around with four astronauts, possibly before the end of the year.
Highlighting Monday’s moonshot was the long-delayed initial test flight of the Vulcan rocket. The 202-foot (61-metre) rocket is essentially an upgraded version of ULA’s hugely successful workhorse Atlas V, which is being phased out along with the company’s Delta IV. Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, provided the Vulcan’s two main engines.
ULA declared success once the lander was free of the rocket’s upper stage, nearly an hour into the flight and before the spacecraft’s propulsion system malfunctioned and prevented the solar panel from properly pointing toward the sun.
Cargo fares for Peregrine ranged from a few hundred dollars to 1.2 million dollars (£0.9 million) per kg, not nearly enough for Astrobotic to break even. But for the first flight, that is not the point, according to Astrobotic chief executive John Thornton.
“A lot of people’s dreams and hopes are riding on this,” Mr Thornton said days before the flight.
