The Peregrine spacecraft did not reach the Moon: it returned and burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere

The American spaceship Peregrine, which was supposed to deliver the flag of Ukraine to the moon, is headed for Earth and will burn up in its atmosphere.

The mission did not achieve its goal, as the device did not reach the Moon.

Now the device is at a distance of more than 376 thousand km, reported Asrobotic on Twitter (X).

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The company released an update on the status of the Peregrine device on January 15. The developers say that the device does not pose a threat to people. He will be followed to the end.

“Peregrine will soon re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. It is now about 234,000 miles away. We are working with NASA to further update and evaluate Peregrine’s controlled reentry trajectory.

We do not believe that Peregrine’s entry into the atmosphere poses a safety threat. The spacecraft will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. We confirm this with analyzes in cooperation with the US government. We will continue to operate the spacecraft and provide updates on its status until the end of the mission.”the company said in a statement.

The Peregrine module carried, in particular, the cargo of the Ukrainian-British company Spacebit, which was founded by the Ukrainian Pavlo Tanasiuk (flag and map of Ukraine on a metal plate).

Photo: United Launch Alliance

Despite the unsuccessful launch of the spacecraft, the company Astrobotic does not lose its optimism.

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“I am very proud of what our team has accomplished on this mission. It is an honor to witness the heroic efforts of our Mission Management team overcoming tremendous challenges to restore and operate the spacecraft following an engine anomaly.

I look forward to sharing these and other great stories after the mission ends on January 18th. This mission has already taught us a lot and instilled in me the confidence that our next mission will end with a soft landing on the moon.”, – said Astrobotic CEO John Thornton.

It will be recalled that Peregrine began its journey on January 8, when it was lifted by a Vulcan launch vehicle from the United Launch Alliance company.

However, difficulties began shortly after launch, the ship suffered a critical loss of fuel. It became clear that the spacecraft would not be able to make a soft landing on the Moon.

“Our analysis efforts were complicated by the fuel leak, which added uncertainty to the predictions of the spacecraft’s flight path.

Our latest estimate shows that the spacecraft is on its way to Earth, where it will most likely burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.” – wrote Astrobotic on January 13.

However, the Astrobotic team was able to continue scientific experiments, as well as collect space flight data, writes Phys.

In addition to scientific equipment, the spacecraft carried cargo for Astrobotic’s private customers, such as human and animal ashes.

Read also: The mission is in jeopardy: the NASA spacecraft, which is supposed to deliver cargo to the moon, is running out of fuel