The American lander Peregrine disappeared after the moon disappeared, probably disintegrating

Astrobotics

Peregrine was never able to reach its lunar objective, as an “anomaly” occurred shortly after its separation from the Vulcan rocket.

Space – Years of hard work to find yourself wandering in the dust of space. Astrobotic Technology announced this Friday, January 19, that it has lost contact with the Peregrine mission’s lander. Launched early last week, the latter did not manage to achieve its goal: a fuel leak in mid-flight prevented it from being able to make a soft landing on the moon, as planned.

The lander was intentionally lost, possibly disintegrating upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, announced the start-up that designed the device. continued Over the Water in the South Pacific ». Astrobotic is now awaiting confirmation from the authorities to seal the fate of the machine.

The company had to evaluate how to terminate the mission, taking into account the uncertainties associated with the leak and without risking problems for satellites in Earth orbit or debris in lunar orbit. She finally announced this weekend that she “ A difficult decision » to maintain a trajectory pointing the lander toward Earth, even though it may “ weeks”.

“The ship will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere”

“We do not believe that Peregrine’s re-entry poses a safety risk and that the spacecraft will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.”, wrote after Astrobotic. The company calls the device, about the size of a small golf cart, “ Minimize the risk of debris falling to the ground”.

Although Peregrine did not reach the Moon, its lander was able to continue operating in space. It collected useful flight data for future endeavors, and also made it possible to carry out experiments on board, particularly those sent by NASA, such as measuring radiation. The device was also able to capture some nice images, as you can see below.

Astrobotic is holding a press conference this Friday to review the entire mission, which aims to be the first landing of an American device on the moon in more than 50 years, and the first by a private company.

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