The first American mission to the Moon since Apollo using technology developed by British scientists ran into technical problems after launch.
Peregrine Mission One (PM1), built by US space company Astrobotic, was launched this morning from Cape Canaveral in Florida with the aim of becoming the first private probe to land on the surface of the Moon.
Astrobotic reported that PM1 initially successfully separated from the Vulcan rocket and became fully operational.
But the company says an “anomaly” prevents Astrobotic from aligning the lunar craft’s solar panels with the Sun, which could mean it won’t be able to generate enough power.
In a statement, Astrobotic said: “The avionics systems built by Astrobotic, including the main control and processing unit, as well as thermal, propulsion and power controls, are activated and functioning as intended.”
“After successful activation of the propulsion systems, the Sapsan entered a fully functional state. Unfortunately, an anomaly occurred that prevented Astrobotic from achieving a stable alignment with the Sun.
“The team is responding to the evolving situation in real time and will provide updates as data is collected and analyzed.”
The Vulcan Centaur rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral on Monday morning.
On board is Astrobotic’s Peregrine robotic lander, which will arrive on the Moon on February 23 with a cargo of scientific instruments that will collect data on the lunar surface ahead of planned future manned missions.
This is the first mission to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Artemis lunar program.
The Vulcan’s debut is a pivotal event for United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The launch appeared to go according to plan, with the second stage booster reaching orbit about 15 minutes after liftoff, sending Peregrine deeper into space.
“Everything looks right, just perfect,” ULA mission spokesman Eric Monda said from the company’s control room after Vulcan left earth.
Vulcan, launched Friday, has invested about a decade in development to replace ULA’s workhorse Atlas V and Elon Musk’s SpaceX reusable Falcon 9 in the satellite launch market.
ULA was formed in 2006 from the merger of the Boeing and Lockheed missile programs. They own the company 50/50, although they have been trying to sell the company for about a year.
“It’s really very important to ULA’s future success…Everything is better for them when things go well,” George Sowers, former ULA chief scientist and one of the architects of the Vulcan program, said of the mission. “But it’s definitely not the end of the world if it isn’t.”
NASA has five payloads aboard the Peregrine lander but is not responsible for the mission.
It also features an instrument developed in collaboration between the Open University, RAL Space (part of the UK Science Facilities Council), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the European Space Agency.
The British-made component, called the Exospheric Mass Spectrometer, is the first lunar instrument built in the UK and Europe.
As part of PITMS, the Exospheric Mass Spectrometer allows researchers to study atoms and molecules in a gas.
Michelle Donelan, Minister for Science and Technology, said: “The exospheric mass spectrometer will be the first scientific component developed in the UK and destined for the lunar surface, marking a historic moment for the UK space industry.”
“This important achievement also lays the foundation for a better understanding of how we can support a greater human presence on the Moon in the future, forever changing the way humanity interacts with the solar system around us.”
Understanding water on the Moon is a central part of the Artemis program, which aims to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.
Libby Jackson, head of space exploration at the UK Space Agency, said: “The Peregrine lunar lander will help pave the way for further exploration of our solar system.”
“It is an extremely exciting moment to witness the launch of the first instrument from the UK and even Europe to the Moon.
“We look forward to seeing Peregrine safely on the surface and returning critical data from PITMS to unlock the mysteries of water on the Moon.”
Among the 21 objects and tools that Peregrine carries with him are also human remains.
The Navajo people of North America, who believe the moon is sacred, objected to the remains being sent there.
Before the launch, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said, “The proposal to change this [the moon] The creation of a burial site for human remains is deeply troubling and unacceptable to our people and many other tribal nations.”
Additional information from Reuters and P.A.