Yesterday, Monday, the Peregrine ship, owned by the North American aerospace company Astrobotic, rose into space. Its goal was to land on the Moon, a milestone that would have been historic since, until now, no private initiative has achieved it. The descent maneuver was scheduled for February 23.
However, shortly after launch, those responsible for the mission detected an error in the orientation of the solar panels, an incident that could be corrected but which turned out to be a consequence of a loss of fuel. Finally, and after confirming this mishap, Astrobotic reported that it would try to carry out as many scientific tasks as possible before definitively losing control over the ship’s trajectory.
The Peregrine mission transports NASA scientific instruments, as well as human remains (ashes and DNA samples) from two companies specialized in unique funeral memorials, a fact that has fueled controversy over the use of space.
The launch of Peregrine took place at 8:18 (Spanish peninsular time), from Cape Canaveral (Florida) and aboard a Vulcan Centaur rocket from the ULA company. It was the first time this particular model of launcher had been used, and it worked perfectly.
At 3:37 p.m., Astrobotic reported that Peregrine’s solar panels were not correctly oriented toward the Sun and, therefore, the ship’s batteries were not charging as planned. Those responsible for the mission managed to reorient the panels and solve this first mishap, but everything seemed to indicate that there must have been a more general error causing the incident.
A few hours later, Astrobotic announced the detection of a fuel leak. The incident was confirmed shortly after, when the first photograph sent by the ship was received and in which Astrobotic engineers identified alterations in the layer of thermal insulation material that pointed to an anomaly in the propulsion system.
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Finally, in the following publication it was reported that the loss of fuel caused the ship’s trajectory control system to have to operate beyond what was expected: “Based on the current fuel consumption, if the engines can continue running we believe that “The spacecraft could continue in a stable position, pointing towards the Sun, for approximately 40 more hours.” The statement ended by saying that the objective was to get as close to the Moon as possible before the ability to maintain orientation towards the Sun and, with it, energy was lost.
The Peregrine probe carries five scientific instruments owned by NASA, with which the North American space agency hoped to obtain data on the presence of water molecules at the lunar landing site, as well as measure radiation and study the thin layer of gases found. just above the lunar surface (a layer called the exosphere). These analyzes are of interest within the framework of the Artemis project (the United States space program whose main objective is the human return to the lunar surface).
In the place that had been chosen for the descent, a region on the visible side of the Moon called Sinus Viscositatis, there are geological structures that, on our planet, require the presence of water for their formation.
In addition to the transportation contracted by NASA, Peregrine also carries human remains from two companies specialized in unique funeral services. The cargo of one of them, Celestis, includes the ashes of 70 people, the identity of which can be consulted on the company’s website. Thus, among the remains sent with Peregrine are those of the British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke (author of “2001, a space odyssey”) and those of Eugene Roddenberry, the creator of the Star Trek saga.
The sending of human remains to the Moon has once again ignited the discussion about the need to regulate the use of space by governments and companies. The Peregrine case, for example, had provoked the protest of the president of the Navajo Nation of the United States, considering that sending human remains to the Moon desecrated a place considered sacred by this culture.
The next lunar landing attempt by a private company will be carried out by the company Intuitive Machines, probably in the middle or end of next February. In this case, the planned landing site will be close to the desired lunar south pole, a region that could contain water ice transported by comets.
And in terms of government missions, Japan could become, on January 19, the fifth country to land on the Moon with its SLIM mission, which is currently in lunar orbit. Previously, the United States, the former Soviet Union, China and India have achieved it.
