Astrobotic’s lunar lander will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere in a remote part of the South Pacific tomorrow afternoon, bringing an end to a failed moon mission.
The Peregrine lunar lander is expected to reenter uninhabited waters off Fiji around 4 p.m. ET, according to coordinates updated by Astrobotic on Wednesday. The spacecraft will be unable to re-enter the atmosphere. The company said it has been working with NASA to monitor its reentry path and ensure the Peregrine Falcon’s reentry is both safe and predictable.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic has been frequently updating its Peregrine lunar lander since its Jan. 8 launch aboard United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur. While the launch went without any issues, Astrobotic reported anomalies with the spacecraft just hours after deployment. track.
The source of the anomaly was a persistent propellant leak that prevented the Peregrine from pointing its solar array toward the sun. While Astrobotic engineers successfully reoriented the array, the company later said it suspected the root cause of the problem was a severe propellant leak in the propulsion system. This may be down to a valve in the pressurized system failing to close.
The company confirmed that there are “It’s impossible to have a soft landing on the moon” Due to a leak the next day.
Astrobotic extended the mission’s life far beyond initial expectations: On the same day the company confirmed that a moon landing was impossible, the spacecraft was estimated to have only 40 hours of propellant left. But by the time it re-enters the atmosphere tomorrow, the Peregrine Falcon will have been operating in space for more than ten days.
Because of the propellant leak, Astrobotic said it had devised a two-step process to maneuver the spacecraft into its projected reentry orbit. First, the company fired five main engines with very short pulses because leaks caused longer burns to be canceled. Peregrine performed a total of 23 small console burnouts.
The company also adjusted the spacecraft’s “attitude,” or direction, so that leaking propellant moved the Peregrine Falcon toward the South Pacific.
“The procedures performed by the team are designed to minimize the risk of debris reaching land,” Astrobotic said in a statement Wednesday. “Astrobotic continues to work closely with NASA and other relevant government agencies to keep everyone informed and solicit feedback as appropriate.”
Although the company didn’t meet its mission goals, Astrobotic said it was able to receive valuable data from the ship’s many payloads. Part of those payloads are science instruments and other research from NASA, which awarded Astrobotic a $79.5 million contract in 2019 to support the mission.
