Returning to the moon may prove to be harder than thought

The private lunar lander launched from the US on January 9th appears to have suffered an ‘anomaly’ – with experts trying to tackle the problem

The Peregrine Mission-1 – which took off on a new massive Vulcan rocket – aims to become the first US spacecraft to land on the moon’s surface since Apollo 17 in 1972; everything appeared to go well as it lifted off into space as planned.

Associated Press reported:

“But about seven hours after liftoff, Astrobotic Technology reported the solar panel on the lander wasn’t properly pointed toward the sun to generate and store power and it was investigating the issue.

The Pittsburgh company’s lander caught a ride on a brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan. The Vulcan streaked through the Florida predawn sky, putting the spacecraft on a roundabout route to the moon for a landing attempt on Feb. 23.”

Astrobotic, who won a $108 million NASA contract, wants to be the first private company to land on the moon, but a Houston company will also send up a lander and could beat it to the lunar surface by taking a more direct path.

The last moon-landing mission was launched in December 1972, when Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt became the 11th and 12th men to walk on the moon.

“The space agency’s new Artemis program — named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology — looks to return astronauts to the moon’s surface within the next few years. First will be a lunar fly-around with four astronauts, possibly before the end of the year.”

[…] The Soviet Union and the U.S. 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 in 2023.

But last year also saw landers from Russia and a private Japanese company slam into the moon. An Israeli nonprofit crashed in 2019.”

The Peregrine Mission 1 – as is almost mandatory in today’s America – raised some controversy by carrying the ashes and DNA of deceased Presidents and space enthusiasts.

“The Navajo Nation recently sought to have the launch delayed because of the human remains. saying it would be a ‘profound desecration’ of a celestial body revered by Native Americans.

Thornton said the December objections came too late but promised to try to find ‘a good path forward’ with the Navajo for future missions.”

Thomas Moore, science correspondent for Sky News, reported:

This had looked like a dream start to the Peregrine Mission. But its future now hangs in the balance.

Astrobotic says the spacecraft isn’t in a ‘stable sun-pointing orientation’. That suggests its solar panels won’t be harvesting anywhere near enough solar energy and if the company can’t quickly stabilize the lunar lander it will lose power.

It’s unclear what has gone wrong. […] Astrobotic will be trying to work a solution. If it’s hardware, can they use a back-up system? If it’s software, can they upload new computer code to correct the bug?”

See more here yourdestinationnow.com

Please Donate Below To Support Our Ongoing Work To Defend The Scientific Method

PRINCIPIA SCIENTIFIC INTERNATIONAL, legally registered in the UK as a company incorporated for charitable purposes. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX. 

Trackback from your site.

Comments (11)

  • Avatar

    Tom

    |

    Landing on the moon is of no real value. Getting to Mars might prove valuable. But after that? There is nothing readily attainable in the solar system, although several interesting prospects remain.

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Howdy

    |

    “The Navajo Nation recently sought to have the launch delayed because of the human remains. saying it would be a ‘profound desecration’ of a celestial body revered by Native Americans.”
    Perhaps connected to the Hopi prophecies?
    http://www.alamongordo.com/9-signs-of-the-hopi-indians/

    “My people await Pahana, the lost White Brother, (from the stars) as do all our brothers in the land. He will not be like the white men we know now, who are cruel and greedy. we were told of their coming long ago. But still we await Pahana.”
    http://awaketotruth.weebly.com/hopi-prophecy.html

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Brian

    |

    Landing on the moon😂😂😂

    Reply

  • Avatar

    aaron

    |

    How can one return to where they have never been ????

    Reply

  • Avatar

    Wisenox

    |

    The NASA moon story has been destroyed thoroughly on the internet. It’s clear that we never went, and Obama, while in office, mentioned that we aren’t capable of leaving low Earth orbit.
    There are astronauts from 60’s onward have disagreed when asked if they can see stars in space. There wouldn’t be any confusion if they actually went.
    For those who do not know the symbolism, Pisces Australis is the infamous ‘eye’ sacrificed by Odin. The chances that Fomahault actually looks like an eye are near zero. That’s not the only question mark either, Saturn’s ‘hexagon’ is another bizarre coincidence.
    There is no footage of any eclipses as seen from the moon or orbit. Likewise, no actual raw images of Earth. In short, with NASA, you have to take their word for it.
    They have stolen billions in the name of space bullshit, and the people have absolutely nothing to show for it, except for CGI.

    Without returns on investment, all taxpayer funds should stay with the taxpayer.

    Reply

    • Avatar

      Howdy

      |

      “Pisces Australis is the infamous ‘eye’ sacrificed by Odin. The chances that Fomahault actually looks like an eye are near zero.”
      Fomalhaut is one of the royal stars, Archangel Gabriel. Of course it doesn’t look like an eye, it represents, and is located in the lower fish, in the eye position. The one Aquarius pours water into.
      The stars representing Scorpio’s claws, don’t look like claws either.

      Reply

  • Avatar

    aaron

    |

    if space is way below freezing, how do solar panels work in that extreme, they sure dont work well in the cold on earth where it is a lot warmer

    Reply

    • Avatar

      Howdy

      |

      The panels used in space are far more expensive, and efficient than the base level stuff used on Earth, Aaron.

      Reply

    • Avatar

      Herb Rose

      |

      Hi Aaron,
      Satellites in orbit around the Earth (including the moon) have a temperature of over 200 F in the sun and less than -200 in the shade. Remember when the solar panel on Skylab didn’t completely deploy, shading, resulting in it being unusable until they put up a covering:?
      Herb

      Reply

Leave a comment

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Share via