Astrobotic Technology announced it had to abandon its attempt to land its Peregrine lunar lander on the Moon, less than 24 hours after the vehicle launched from the United States, the first such mission in five decades. The lander suffered a critical loss of propellant due to a fuel leak. Despite an initial successful launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Space Station, Florida, the lander encountered technical problems, most notably a failure in its propulsion system that prevented the solar array from orienting itself toward the sun. This malfunction led to a critical loss of propellant. Engineers have attempted to correct the problem, but the mission is at risk of failing to achieve its intended goal: a soft landing on the Moon in the Sinus Viscositatis region scheduled for February 23. This accident raises questions about the future of private lunar missions, in a context in which space agencies increasingly rely on the commercial sector for space exploration. Pittsburgh company Astrobotic Technology developed the Peregrine lunar lander under a $108 million contract with NASA. The vehicle was designed from the start to be relatively cheap, in order to fulfill NASA's vision of reducing the cost of placing a robotic lander on the Moon by inviting the private sector to compete for such contracts.
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