Fuel Leak in Space Jeopardizes Mission of America’s Peregrine Lander Headed to Moon

Although United Launch Alliance successfully launched its Vulcan rocket with the Astrobotic’s lunar lander on Monday, the Peregrine lander suffered a propulsion problem after the spacecraft entered its operational state. This prevented Astrobotic from achieving sun-pointing orientation.

In a post, NASA said it was assessing the situation

In an X post, Astrobotic stated an “ongoing propellant leak is causing the spacecraft’s Attitude Control System (ACS) thrusters to operate well beyond their expected service life cycles to keep the lander from an uncontrollable tumble.”

“At this time, the goal is to get Peregrine as close to lunar distance as we can before it loses the ability to maintain its sun-pointing position and subsequently loses power,” it added.