Peregrine still survives 350,000 kilometers from Earth

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The lander took off before dawn on Monday from Florida aboard the new Vulcan Centaur rocket from the ULA group, which brings together Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Agence France-Presse

More than four days after its takeoff and despite a fuel leak which doomed the mission to failure, the moon lander of an American company continues as best it can to function in space, at least for now.

The Astrobotic company, which designed the Peregrine lander, was to attempt the first landing of an American device on the Moon in more than 50 years.

However, the company announced earlier this week that the device would not be able to land as planned on the lunar surface.

Despite everything, the Astrobotic teams continue to look for solutions to extend its lifespan, the company said on Friday, which is now making it function like a ship in order to gather as much data as possible in order to x27;next try.

According to the young company, the anomaly encountered shortly after takeoff on Monday could come from a valve that had malfunctioned and caused a tank to rupture. Result: a fuel leak has affected the lander ever since.

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The Peregrine lander, from the Astrobotic company, suffered technical problems in orbit after detaching with its rocket on January 8, 2024.

Astrobotic However, he did not give up and his efforts paid off. The craft has so far managed to stay on its trajectory and move more than 350,000 kilometers from Earth.

Cargo on board, including NASA scientific instruments, successfully transmitted data. Two of them carry out in-flight radiation measurements, NASA said.

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Sending a ship to the Moon is not simple, wrote on the X network (ex-Twitter) Nicky Fox, administrator associate responsible for scientific missions at NASA. I salute the hard work, tenacity and commitment of Astrobotic [teams] as they face the challenges of their mission.

How the lander will end its adventure is not yet clear, although some space buffs speculate about a potential crash on the lunar surface.