The Peregrine lunar lander didn’t land, but it’s still collecting data


Astrobotic’s ill-fated Peregrine moon lander may soon be tumbling through space, but in the meantime, it’s collecting data for science. In an update on Thursday, NASA disclosed that payloads aboard the lander successfully collecting data. Astrobotic shared a similar update on X (formerly Twitter) earlier in the day.
NASA says the plan is to extend Peregrine’s mission for as long as possible in order to continue data collection efforts. “Measurements and operations of the NASA-provided science instruments on board will provide valuable experience, technical knowledge, and scientific data to future CLPS lunar deliveries,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in a statement included in NASA’s announcement.
In a joint mission with NASA, Astrobotic, a private space company based in Pittsburgh, launched Peregrine Mission One in the early hours of January 8th. The plan was to make the first US lunar landing in more than 50 years — with the ultimate goal of reaching the moon’s surface in late February. But a leak in Peregrine’s propulsion system was detected shortly after launch, and the company announced on Tuesday there wasn’t enough propellant left — only a couple of day’s worth — to make a soft landing.
Peregrine is still operationally stable as of Thursday evening. In an update posted at 4:01PM PT on Thursday, Astrobotic reported that Peregrine has an estimated 48 hours of fuel remaining — much more than what was anticipated in its earlier reports — because the rate of the leak has slowed as time has progressed.
Peregrine is also carrying Iris Lunar Rover, a tiny rover built by Carnegie Mellon University students that was supposed to take photos on the moon. A photo of Iris’s wheels and a fuel tank with the American flag was also posted today by Astrobotic on X. Iris also sent a message to Earth: “Hello, Earth!”
Astrobotic’s ill-fated Peregrine moon lander may soon be tumbling through space, but in the meantime, it’s collecting data for science. In an update on Thursday, NASA disclosed that payloads aboard the lander successfully collecting data. Astrobotic shared a similar update on X (formerly Twitter) earlier in the day. NASA says…
Recent Posts
- An obscure French startup just launched the cheapest true 5K monitor in the world right now and I can’t wait to test it
- Google Meet’s AI transcripts will automatically create action items for you
- No, it’s not an April fool, Intel debuts open source AI offering that gauges a text’s politeness level
- It’s clearly time: all the news about the transparent tech renaissance
- Windows 11 24H2 hasn’t raised the bar for the operating system’s CPU requirements, Microsoft clarifies
Archives
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2018
- October 2017
- December 2011
- August 2010