US Moon mission has no chance of soft lunar landing - BBC News

US company Astrobotic had hoped to land its Peregrine spacecraft on the Moon next month.

20 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, AstroboticImage caption, Astrobotic envisioned Peregrine landing on the Moon's northern hemisphere in late FebruaryA US lunar lander has "no chance" of making a soft landing on the Moon due to a fuel leak, the company behind the mission says.

Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic said there was enough propellant to operate its Peregrine lander as a spacecraft.

The lander is expected to run out of fuel in about 40 hours, the firm said shortly after 17:00 GMT on Tuesday.

Peregrine ran into trouble almost as soon as it came off the top of its launch rocket on Monday.

"Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the Moon," Astrobotic said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67929439?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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