A loss in space for the USA and a lost opportunity for Mexico

Astrobotic’s Peregrine Module trip, which marks NASA’s return to the Moon after more than 50 years and is the first trip by a satellite from Mexico and UNAM, took off as planned. However, after a few hours the voyage became uncertain, and Finally In failing to reach the moon.

Problems with the Peregrine module started slowly, with the first anomaly that stopped the Navy.and orients itself steadily towards the sun to gain energy, which was determined to be due to a malfunction in the propulsion system, which jeopardized the ship’s ability toSoft landing“On the moon.

However can be improved with the condition of the ship An improvised maneuver to recharge their batteries

The source of the problem was also found to be a failure in the propulsion system, which was causing severe fuel loss.

Astrobotic also indicated that while it wanted to stabilize the leak, its priority was to maximize the science and data that could be captured, to the point that the mission team Evaluation of possible alternative mission profilesThat is, figuring out how to take advantage of the available resources to do the most research.

Gradually losing control

His update, posted on January 6, 8 at 8pm CDT, was powerful. Derived from a fuel leak, Peregrine Couldn’t stand still And its thrusters were working below capacity.

As a result, Astrobotic said, if the thrusters could remain operational, it was estimated that the spacecraft could continue to point safely toward the Sun. For about 40 more hoursThat is, until noon on Wednesday, January 10.

Despite the problems, the essence of the mission remains, as Astrobotic assured that the objective Bring the peregrine as close to the moon as possible Before losing its ability to keep the ship pointed towards the sun along with losing its energy due to its lack of ability to recharge its batteries.

The chances of reaching the moon are running out

In Update 7 of Peregrine Mission One, Astrobotic was more optimistic, despite admitting that due to a propellant leak There was no possibility of landing on the moonThe ship still had enough fuel to operate as a spacecraft and cut off at 11 a.m. Central Mexico time on Tuesday, January 9.

Additionally, Astrobotic also stated that the propellant will be depleted after 40 hours (ie Thursday January 11, 2024 at 3 AM), an improvement on the previous estimate.

Of course, the company admitted to working on new forms Extending the working life of the shipPerforming tests and checks on the payload, receive “Valuable data“And with the Griffin mission testing performance on space flights for components and software for its next lunar landing attempt.

Astrobotic’s current hypothesis is that the present spacecraft Valve anomaly Between the helium pressurizer and oxidizer that did not seal after activation. Consequently, it “High pressure helium avalanche“, which ended with the tank breaking.

Importance of Peregrine Mission

Unlike missions undertaken by NASA or any other space agency, the Peregrine mission is marked on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket. A new phase of private space exploration for the moon.

A project led by Astrobotic made it possible to get space inside the module. Launch multiple research missions for different clientsIncluding NASA payloads such as radiation detectors and spectrometers to look for evidence of ice beneath the satellite’s surface.

In the agency’s case, it marked a return to the moon after more than 50 years, not with one of its missions or as part of Artemis, but In a commercial space project.

Part of these clients was also Colmana, a project undertaken by UNAM that intended to take him to the Moon. Five small robots that will analyze the regolith

(Moon dust) to produce oxygen and metals, but they will also try and combine them together to make solar panels and generate energy.

However, now that the moon landing is not an option, the Coleman mission cannot take place. Designed to explore the surface of satellitesHowever, for UNAM all the technological development and training of students in the university to miniaturize robotic systems remains as knowledge.

Although not able to analyze the regolith, UNAM believes it to be COLMENA Achieved at least 50% successBecause even on board Peregrine, it has achieved proper ignition of robots in space.

According to the person responsible for the mission and head of the Space Instrumentation Laboratory (LINX) of UNAM’s Institute of Nuclear Sciences (ICN), Gustavo Medina Tanco, the experience in this mission Columns will allow efficient design for 2which will also carry out the scientific works initially planned for this project.