The “Peregrine” lunar module has no chance of landing
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The lunar lander of the American company Astrobotic will not be able to make a soft landing on the moon due to a lack of fuel. As Reuters reports with reference to the creators of the “Peregrine” module, in the first hours of the flight there was a fuel leak from the propulsion system.
Fuel left for 40 hours of engine operation. This allows, according to Astrobotic, to continue the mission in spaceship mode. Meanwhile, engineers are studying the possibilities for developing a new flight task.
Earlier, the Astrobotic company reported that a few hours after separation from the launch vehicle, problems in the propulsion system of “Peregryn” did not allow it to return to the sun with solar panels. When this task was successfully solved, it became clear that there is no longer any possibility of a smooth controlled descent to the lunar surface.
Engineers said that the mission continues in the mode of space flight, while the possibility of reprogramming the device to perform a new flight task is being studied.
On January 8, a new Vulcan Centaur heavy launch vehicle with a Peregrine lunar lander was launched from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida. His landing on the surface of the Moon was scheduled for the 20th of February.
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