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”.
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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.
