All articles tagged with #propellant leak
NASA advised Astrobotic to redirect its Peregrine lander back to Earth after a propellant leak, leading to its destruction during re-entry, in order to avoid creating debris around the Moon that could impact future missions, despite the possibility of the leak stopping and the lander reaching the Moon.
Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander, which failed to land on the moon due to a propellant leak, is set to reenter over the South Pacific on Jan. 18. The company confirmed that it had adjusted the spacecraft’s trajectory to ensure a safe reentry, following a series of short burns by the main engines and orienting the spacecraft to push it towards the desired reentry zone. NASA supports Astrobotic's decision to reenter the lander to safely conclude the mission and will assist in reviewing flight data to identify the cause of the propulsion incident.
Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander, despite encountering a dire fuel leak shortly after launch, has defied the odds by remaining operational in space for over four days, with the estimated operational time continuing to extend. The company has received critical data from many of the payloads on board, and while a soft landing on the moon is unlikely and a shortened lifetime is certain due to the leak, the extended operational life is a significant achievement for the mission team and payload contributors.
Astrobotic has successfully obtained data from many of the payloads on its ailing Peregrine lunar lander, including NASA science experiments and other technology demonstration payloads. The company has managed to power up and receive data from nine out of the 20 payloads on the spacecraft, despite a propellant leak that has limited the lander's lifetime. The leak, which caused attitude control problems, will ultimately prevent the lander from attempting a soft landing on the moon in February as originally planned.