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Astrobotic to begin formal investigation into failed Peregrine mission

With the Peregrine lunar lander mission now complete, Astrobotic is turning its attention to understanding what went wrong with the spacecraft.

Of particular concern, he later explained, was that continued use of the lander’s damaged propulsion system “could have possibly caused a catastrophic situation that would potentially create more debris.” “Our mission control team in Pittsburgh kept their cool, they focused on the problem and they diagnosed what occurred,” he said of the company’s reaction to the propellant leak, reorienting the spacecraft so that its solar panels could generate power before its batteries ran out. They were able to turn on payloads on board, including four NASA instruments, which returned data that scientists said is useful even though it was not collected from the surface of the moon as originally intended.

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