The first US attempt to land on the moon in more than 50 years has been abandoned after fuel leaked on a private company's spacecraft just hours after launch.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology acknowledged the probe pilgrim It only has enough fuel to travel for 40 hours, which will not allow it to land on the moon, which is planned for February 23.
“If the propulsion devices can continue to operate, we believe the spacecraft can continue in a stable orientation state for approximately another 40 hours based on current fuel consumption,” the company said.
Given the new panorama, Astrobotic said the goal now is to move the probe as close as possible to the moon before it loses power.
The company also said it is working with NASA “to determine the impact on the five scientific investigations the agency is conducting aboard the spacecraft.” pilgrim“.
The problem, a “catastrophic loss of fuel,” was reported about seven hours after liftoff, in the early hours of Monday, from the Cape Canaveral Space Station.
Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkiewicz/EPA
The company was able to direct the probe towards the sun so that the solar panel could capture sunlight and charge the battery, while a special team evaluated the condition of what was described as a “malfunction in the propulsion system.”
The company aims to be the first company in the private sector to successfully land on the moon, something that only four countries have achieved. A second launch is scheduled for February from a Houston company.
NASA, which funded 108 million euros for pilgrim Astrobotic intends to send special probes to explore the site before the astronauts arrive, and is also providing technological and scientific expertise to the space agency, other countries and universities.
Despite acknowledging the setback with pilgrimOn Monday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson preferred to highlight the “success” of the new rocket on social media Vulcan CentaurFrom the industrial group ULA, which took the probe into space.
This gives NASA “more tools for space exploration,” Nelson added.
We work with @astrobotic To determine the root cause of the propulsion problem and evaluate how it affected the five scientific investigations NASA conducted aboard the spacecraft.
Space is hard. We support our vendors and look forward to learning all we can. https://t.co/0J9gbuuUCh
– NASA (@NASA) January 8, 2024
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