Peregrine lander: Time running out for US Moon mission - BBC News

An American spacecraft hoping to land on the lunar surface may become inoperable within hours.

3 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, AstroboticImage caption, Artwork: How Astrobotic envisioned Peregrine on the lunar surfaceBy Jonathan AmosScience correspondentThe American company that launched a mission on Monday to try to soft-land on the Moon says it may not be able to control its spacecraft for much longer.

Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic is fighting a fuel leak from its Peregrine lander, which is making it hard to maintain stable pointing of the spacecraft.

Mission life could now be measured in just hours, the firm said.

Certainly, a touch-down on the lunar surface - the first for the US in half a century - is no longer possible.

"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," a statement from Astrobotic read.

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