American private aerospace company Astrobotic has announced the proposed Moon landing date of the Peregrine spacecraft as part of the mission of the same name. The uncrewed module is planned to land on the Moon on January 25, 2024. reports Phys.org, with reference to Agence France Presse (AFP).
The last time the United States landed a spacecraft on the lunar surface was the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Peregrine is equipped with research equipment to study the lunar environment. The data it collects will help prepare NASA’s Artemis manned missions in the coming years.
The device will be launched towards the Moon from the cosmodrome in Florida on December 24. The Peregrine module will be launched into space on the new Vulcan Centaur rocket developed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s United Launch Alliance joint venture.
The probe will reach lunar orbit in a few days and then wait about a month for optimal conditions for landing. Landing on the Moon will take place automatically but under the control of Astrobotic experts.
Astrobotic CEO John Thornton stated that only half of the moon landing missions were successful.
To date, only four countries in the world have managed to successfully land spacecraft: the USSR, the USA, China and India.
Previously at Roscosmos saidWhen Russian cosmonauts set foot on the surface of the Moon.