America's Moon Dreams on Hold: Can Peregrine Be Saved?
The first private robotic journey to the Moon under the Artemis programme has a shadow cast over it. A serious anomaly has been encountered by the Peregrine lander , which is carrying important NASA science payloads and may compromise its safe landing on the lunar surface. The organisation in charge of America's most recent attempt to soft-land on the moon is fighting to keep the project alive. According to Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic , a malfunctioning propulsion system in its Peregrine spacecraft will prohibit a lunar touch-down if left unfixed. The Sun Power difficulties Peregrine's capacity to sustain a steady sun-pointing attitude was lost soon after it broke away from the Vulcan rocket . This is important because the solar panels on the lander need steady sunshine to produce power. The mission's scientific objectives and possibly the lander's survivability are in jeopardy if there is not enough energy. A Tough Situation: A propulsion issue is thought to be the ...