SPACE experts are scrambling to fix an “anomaly” that could jeopardise Nasa’s new Moon mission.
Peregrine Mission One blasted from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Monday, marking America’s first attempt at a moon landing in 50 years.
5
5
5
It carries a load of items, including the ashes of the original Star Trek cast and the DNA of former US president John F. Kennedy.
But the entire mission is now at risk of failure after a technical problem affecting the tool that provides the spacecraft with power.
Astrobotic – the company behind the mission – said the kit has stopped pointing stably at the Sun.
If it doesn’t face the Sun properly it can’t charge batteries or power the spacecraft.
Read more on Nasa
The firm said: “After successfully separating from United Launce Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander began receiving telemetry via the NASA Deep Space Network.
“Astrobotic-built avionics systems, including the primary command and data handling unit, as well as the thermal, propulsion, and power controllers, all powered on and performed as expected.
“After successful propulsion systems activation, Peregrine entered a safe operational state.
“Unfortunately, an anomaly then occurred, which prevented Astrobotic from achieving a stable sun-pointing orientation.
Most read in Tech
“The team is responding in real time as the situation unfolds and will be providing updates as more data is obtained and analysed.”
The spacecraft is supposed to be the first US mission to land on the moon since 1972.
It is the debut flight for both the 202ft Vulcan rocket and the 6ft-tall Peregrine lunar lander – costing Nasa £85million.
If the problem is fixed, the Peregrine lander is expected to arrive on the Moon on February 23.
Astrobotic Technology aims to be the first private business to successfully land on the moon – something only four countries have achieved.
A Houston company also has a Moon lander ready to fly – and could beat Peregrine to the lunar surface, taking a more direct path.
Nasa dished out millions to the two companies to build and fly their own lunar lands.
The space agency wants the privately owned landers to scope out the place before astronauts arrive.
They will deliver Nasa tech and science experiments, as well as odds and ends for other customers.
Besides flying up experiments for Nasa, Astrobotic packed the Peregrine lander with a chip of rock from Mount Everest and toy-size cars from Mexico.
They also blasted off a special tool made in the UK.
The last time the US launched a moon-landing mission was in December 1972.
Apollo 17s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt became the 11th and 12th men to walk on the moon, closing out an era that has remained NASA’s pinnacle.
The space agency’s new Artemis programme – named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology – looks to return astronauts to the moons’ surface within the next few years.
First will be a lunar fly-around with four astronauts, possibly before the end of the year.
Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen are set to be on the mission.
The Soviet Union and America racked up a string of successful moon landings in the 1960s and 70s – before putting touchdowns on pause.
China joined the elite club in 2013 and India last year.
And there were also landings from Russia and a private Japanese company.
Read more on The Sun
Next month, SpaceX will provide the lift for a lander from Intuitive Machines.
The Nova-C lander’s more direct route could see both spacecraft attempting to land within days or even hours of one another.
5
5
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
