Astrobotic, a private American aerospace company, has laid out the planned date for the Peregrine Moon lander as part of its mission with the same name. The uncrewed module was slated to touch down on the lunar surface in late January 2024, according to reports from Phys.org with reference to Agence France Presse (AFP).
The last successful United States lunar landing occurred with Apollo 17 in 1972.
Peregrine carries science equipment designed to probe the lunar environment. The data gathered by the lander is expected to inform NASA’s Artemis program, guiding future crewed missions to the Moon in the coming years. The spacecraft was set to depart Earth from the Florida spaceport on December 24, and it would ride the Vulcan Centaur rocket, a launcher developed through a collaboration between Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s United Launch Alliance.
After its departure, the probe would reach lunar orbit within a few days and then pause for roughly a month to await optimal lighting, communication windows, and radiator conditions for the landing sequence. The actual touchdown on the Moon would occur autonomously, under the supervision of Astrobotic engineers and mission controllers.
Astrobotic’s chief executive officer John Thornton noted that historically only about half of moon landing attempts had achieved their primary objectives, underscoring the high-risk nature of orbital and surface operations in deep space exploration.
To date, the accomplishment of lunar landings has been achieved by a small group of nations, including the Soviet Union, the United States, China, and India. These milestones reflect decades of international competition and collaboration in space technology and planetary science.
In related developments, Roscosmos has highlighted ongoing ambitions to expand human activity on the Moon, including plans for crewed missions and continuing robotic exploration. The broader context shows a renewed global emphasis on sustainable activity on and around the Moon, driven by both national programs and international partnerships.
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