Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander Faces Setback, CEO Remains Optimistic
Astrobotic, a leading space robotics company, recently experienced a setback with its Peregrine lunar lander. Despite the failure of the probe’s debut mission, CEO John Thornton remains optimistic about the future of the project. The Peregrine lander was launched on January 8th on the first flight of United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket. While the launch itself went smoothly, Peregrine encountered a propulsion anomaly just hours into its mission, resulting in a significant propellant leak. As a result, the lander was unable to reach the moon and ultimately reentered the Earth’s atmosphere, breaking up over the Pacific Ocean.
Throughout the mission, Astrobotic kept the public informed by posting regular updates on the status of the hobbled Peregrine lander. Despite the premature conclusion of the mission, CEO John Thornton expressed pride in how Peregrine performed. He acknowledged the failure but emphasized that many aspects of the spacecraft worked as intended. Astrobotic successfully designed and built hardware such as avionics, software, and systems architectures that all functioned properly.
Thornton explained that the anomaly that led to Peregrine’s failure was caused by a valve in the lander’s propulsion system that did not re-seal properly. This allowed helium to enter the oxidizer tank, resulting in increased pressure and tank rupture. Despite this setback, Astrobotic’s flight engineers demonstrated remarkable ingenuity by improvising maneuvers to orient the spacecraft’s solar panels towards the sun and even capturing a picture of Earth. To take the photo, mission controllers had to position the spacecraft in such a way that a strut blocked the sun from the camera’s lens.
Mission controllers also utilized the propellant leak to their advantage when planning Peregrine’s safe reentry over the Pacific Ocean. By characterizing the leak and understanding its effects, they were able to use it as a continuous small propulsive maneuver to guide the lander further out into the ocean. The decision to reenter over the ocean was not taken lightly, as the company weighed the risks and potential creation of dangerous space debris. Thornton explained that attempting to stay on course could have resulted in various outcomes, including impact, missing the moon, or having enough fuel to enter lunar orbit. Ultimately, the decision was made to prioritize safety and avoid potential hazards.
While many of Peregrine’s payloads were unable to fulfill their intended purposes due to the mission’s failure, some instruments managed to perform admirably. A radiation detector built by the German Aerospace Center collected 92 hours of data related to the radiation environment in cislunar space. Additionally, two NASA-built instruments, the Neutron Spectrometer System and Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer, successfully measured radiation during Peregrine’s flight.
Dan Hendrickson, Astrobotic’s vice president of business development, expressed gratitude to the payload teams for their support during the mission. He acknowledged that customers understood the challenges and risks associated with lunar missions and still chose to participate. Peregrine was the first mission contracted by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program (CLPS), which aims to accelerate lunar science by partnering with private companies like Astrobotic.
Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, emphasized that failure is often part of the road to success. Despite Peregrine’s fate, NASA remains committed to the CLPS program and believes that embracing a risk posture will lead to innovation and growth in the industry. The next mission contracted under CLPS is the Nova-C lander built by Intuitive Machines, scheduled to launch towards the moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in mid-February.
While Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander faced a setback in its debut mission, the company remains optimistic about the future. The mission may not have achieved its primary objective, but it showcased the ingenuity and resilience of Astrobotic’s team. With valuable lessons learned, the company will continue to push the boundaries of space exploration and contribute to the advancement of lunar science.