On January 8th local time, the Vulcan Centaur rocket from the United States Joint Launch Alliance was launched from Florida and sent the Peregrine Falcon lunar lander into orbit. However, less than 24 hours after takeoff, the Peregrine Falcon lunar lander encountered a "major setback" due to a "critical fuel leak" issue, prompting its research and development company to abandon attempts to send the lunar lander to the moon. According to reports, NASA once again postponed its manned moon landing mission on the 9th, extending the time for American astronauts to return to the moon to September 2026. This is because the development of manned spacecraft and spacesuits contracted by private enterprises is hindered, and existing manned spacecraft also have safety hazards.
"Give up" landing on the moon
According to a report by CBS on the 8th, about 50 minutes after takeoff, the Peregrine Falcon separated from the rocket and entered safe operation mode. According to the original plan, this month the lunar lander will first orbit the Earth, detach from Earth's gravity, enter the Earth Moon transfer orbit, advance towards the Moon, and finally achieve a "soft landing" on the surface of the Moon. The estimated landing time is February 23rd.
However, just a few hours after the launch on the 8th, the American Aerospace Robotics Corporation stated that the solar panels of the Peregrine Falcon could not stabilize the ground towards the sun, making it difficult to effectively maintain power supply. This problem may be caused by abnormal propulsion systems. According to reports, the battery issue was later resolved, but the propulsion system malfunction was not resolved, and the propellant was experiencing "serious losses". In this case, the attitude control system of the Peregrine Falcon may work for up to 40 more hours. "Our goal now is to get the 'falcon' as close to the moon as possible before it can maintain its face towards the sun and lose its kinetic energy," said Aerospace Robotics Technology in a statement late on the 8th. "The 'Peregrine Falcon' mission has abandoned its attempt to land on the moon." The statement from Aerospace Robotics Technology Company means that the plan for the lander to achieve a 'soft landing' on the lunar surface is no longer possible.
Yang Yuguang, Vice Chairman of the Space Transport Committee of the International Astronautical Federation, told Global Times on the 9th that propulsion system failures are a common type of spacecraft failure, and such failures are more fatal for lunar exploration missions. For landers, there are several important steps from entering the Earth Moon transfer orbit to achieving lunar landing, including intermediate correction, near moon braking, and achieving soft landing by reducing the orbit height, all of which rely on the participation of the propulsion system and attitude control system. The speed increment required for these lunar landing steps is very large, and excessive propellant leakage means that a normal "soft landing" cannot be achieved.
Technical challenges
According to the plan, American astronauts will transfer to different spacecraft to go to the moon: when departing from Earth, they will take the Orion spacecraft, which will be launched into space by NASA's new generation carrier rocket, the Space Launch System; After reaching the lunar orbit, transfer to a starship to go to the moon. The Starship rocket and spacecraft integrated system was developed by the private American company Space Exploration Technology, and two experimental launches in April and November last year ended in failure. The third experimental launch is expected to take place in February this year. Experts believe that even if the launch is successful, the "Starship" spacecraft still faces multiple challenges in order to achieve manned flight. According to the design plan, the spacecraft needs to refuel about 10 times in Earth orbit to accumulate enough fuel to travel to the moon. Keshatria said that completing the above tasks is "extremely challenging".
Another reason for the delay of the US manned moon landing mission is the safety hazard of the Orion spacecraft. In November 2022, the Orion spacecraft was successfully launched and completed the moon orbiting test mission of Artemis 1. However, to the surprise of the engineers, during the re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, the spacecraft's thermal shield had charred material falling off. They later discovered a design flaw in the spacecraft's life support system, as well as a problem with the battery. In addition, there has been a delay in the development of space suits worn by astronauts for activities on the lunar surface. Since the US government announced the new moon landing plan for Artemis in 2019, the related tasks have been postponed multiple times and the budget has continued to rise. According to the Associated Press, the US audit department predicts that the total cost of the Artemis program will reach $93 billion by 2025.
Delaying return to the moon may be a foregone conclusion
As the first lunar mission in human history led by a commercial space company, the Peregrine Falcon mission has also been highly anticipated by the US public, believing that this mission will lay the groundwork for the US return to the moon program. In an interview with Global Times reporters, relevant experts stated that in the long run, if this mission fails, the commercial transportation of moon exploration planned by the United States will be affected. Combined with the previous slow progress in the development of other systems, the United States' return to the moon plan is bound to be postponed.
What impact will the "Peregrine Falcon" miss out on the moon have on the United States' plan to return to the moon? At present, it seems that the failure of this lunar landing mission will not have a direct impact on the planned Artemis 2 manned lunar circumnavigation mission and the subsequent Artemis 3 manned lunar landing mission, which were originally scheduled to take place this year. But in the long run, the lunar landing mission led by a commercial space company in the United States will have an impact on the subsequent plans of the United States to build lunar bases in its return to the moon program. In NASA's mission planning, many research and living equipment sent to the lunar surface rely on commercial space companies to provide transportation services. If a commercial company's lunar lander fails its first mission, it will definitely have an impact on subsequent plans.
