Feared failure of Peregrine mission could put US behind China in the moon race, space policy expert says
- Peregrine mission is part of programme for space firms to build and fly lunar craft on which Nasa can buy cargo space for its scientific instruments
- It may be a good idea to test out propulsion and lander technologies first in space, author and space policy expert in Arizona says
An American private lunar lander mission frustrated by technical problems is a setback for the United States’ ambitions to return to the moon cost effectively, and might leave it behind in the moon race with China, a space policy expert said.
The leak caused the spacecraft’s thrusters “to operate well beyond their expected life cycles to keep the lander from an uncontrollable tumble”, the company said.
The probe, which could have made history by putting the US back on the moon five decades after the Apollo missions, struggled to face the sun to charge its battery, Astrobotic posted to social media platform X on Tuesday.
It said there was “unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the moon”.
01:14
India's first solar mission reaches its destination in space
Namrata Goswami, an author and space policy expert with the Arizona State University in Phoenix, said the incident was a blow to American lunar ambitions in general.
“There’s a lot of hope that with Nasa’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, the US will be able to achieve its goal of going to the moon in a much more cost-effective way,” she said.
Peregrine is the first in a string of moon missions, established under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Programme as a partnership between Nasa and space companies in the US. The programme encourages firms to build and fly lunar craft on which Nasa could buy cargo space for its scientific instruments.
“However, the Peregrine ran into major hardware issues within 24 hours after launch,” she said.
Nasa delays astronaut moon landing to 2026 amid spacecraft ‘challenges’
Goswami said such a performance could leave the US behind in the moon race with Beijing, with China getting a number of successful lunar landings under its belt in recent years.
“Especially this year, China is going to launch the Chang’e-6 mission and bring back rock samples from the far side of the moon. It’s a big deal and has never been done before,” she said.
While the US spacecraft may soon become space junk, Goswami said it was a shame to lose its payload, including five scientific facilities from Nasa and rovers from Mexico that would have been Latin America’s first lunar mission.
“One thing Nasa could learn is that when it’s a first attempt made by a commercial company, it’s probably a good idea to test out the propulsion and lander technologies first in space, rather than risking losing expensive instruments on it,” she said.
01:58
SpaceX loses contact with Starship minutes after reaching space
Next up, a second private moon lander under Nasa’s commercial payload programme, built by the Texas-based company Intuitive Machines and scheduled to launch next month.
That mission aims to land in the Malapert A crater near the lunar south pole, which scientists believe could host water ice, a necessity for long-term settlement on the moon.
