US unmanned lunar lander ``Peregrine'' launched, landing difficult due to loss of propellant
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| Peregrine |
On January 8th, America's first unmanned lunar lander, Peregrine, was launched. The craft was separated from the rocket and placed into orbit toward the moon, but it appears that a propellant leak caused a large amount of fuel to be lost, making landing on the moon virtually impossible.
[January 10, 2024 Astrobotic (1) / (2) / (3) / (4) / (5) / (6) / (7) / (8) / (9)]
At 16:18 on January 8th (Japan time), the Vulcan rocket carrying the U.S.-based Astrobotic's unmanned lunar lander "Peregrine" landed in Cape Florida, the U.S. It was launched from Space Force Station Canaveral.
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| peregrine launch Launch of "Peregrine" (Courtesy of NASA) |
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| peregrine Unmanned Lunar Lander Peregrine (Courtesy of Official NASA Broadcast/Astrobotic) |
At around 5:08 p.m., about 50 minutes after liftoff, Peregrine separated from the rocket and was placed into orbit toward the moon. Next, all systems were turned on, the propulsion system started up normally, and the spacecraft began operating.
However, after that, an abnormality occurred in the propulsion force and the attitude control became unstable, making it impossible to stably point toward the sun, which is necessary to charge the solar battery. The engine fired its solar panels toward the sun, but it turned out that a failure in the propulsion system caused a significant loss of propellant.
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| first image |
The first image received from Peregrine.nasa news This image confirms that the multilayer insulation (MLI) in the foreground looks different from normal, providing a visual clue that matches the telemetry data indicating an abnormality in the propulsion system. (Courtesy of Astrobotic)
The original plan was for Peregrine to land at Sticky Cove (near the area between Rainbow Cove and Aristarchus Crater) in late February, and if the soft landing was successful, it would have been the first civilian feat, but due to problems, it was not possible.It appears to have become extremely challenging.The mission's goal was changed to getting Peregrine as close to the lunar surface as possible before it lost its ability to maintain its solar pointing position.
All available data has already been downloaded from Peregrine. These will be analyzed in detail and a report will be published after the mission, including the cause of the propellant leak.
"Peregrine" launch broadcast recording "First US Business Moon Send off: Astrobotic Peregrine Mission 1 (Official NASA Broadcast)" (Graciousness of NASA)
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