NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative aims to deliver science and technology to the Moon to advance our capabilities in lunar exploration. Shortly after launch, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander experienced a failure in the propulsion system, causing a critical loss of propellent. Astrobotic announced due to the failure, Peregrine will not achieve a soft [...]
NASA will hold a media teleconference today at 1:30 p.m. EST to provide an update on the agency’s lunar exploration plans for the benefit of all under Artemis. Audio of the briefing will stream live on NASA’s website. In addition to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, agency participants will include: NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free Catherine [...]
NASA is working with Astrobotic to determine impact to the agency’s five science investigations aboard the company’s Peregrine Mission One spacecraft. Earlier today, Peregrine became the first American commercial lunar lander to launch on a Mission to the Moon. Soon after spacecraft separation, Peregrine experienced a propulsion issue. The privately designed and developed spacecraft [...]
Carrying NASA science planned for the Moon, United Launch Alliance successfully launched its Vulcan rocket and Astrobotic’s lunar lander early this morning. Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander experienced a propulsion issue after the spacecraft entered its operational state. This prevented Astrobotic from achieving sun-pointing orientation. The company is assessing and will provide more information as soon [...]
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander successfully powered on and is now on its way to the Moon, carrying NASA science as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis program. Peregrine is expected to land on the lunar surface on Feb. 23 and, throughout the approximate 10-day mission, the agency’s scientific instruments [...]
At approximately 3:09 a.m. EST, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander separated from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. Onboard Peregrine are NASA scientific instruments and other commercial payloads to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis program. Coming up, Peregrine will power up and begin its journey to the Moon. [...]
At 2:18 a.m. EST, United Launch Alliance launched its Vulcan rocket and Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Onboard Peregrine are a suite of NASA scientific instruments and commercial payloads to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and [...]
On Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket carrying Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in advance of a planned lift off at 2:18 a.m. EST Monday, Jan. 8, [...]
Ahead of launch as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is preparing to be encapsulated in the payload fairing, or nose cone, of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket on Nov. 21, 2023, at Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch of [...]
In our last post, we described how VIPER, NASA’s first robotic Moon rover, is using artificial intelligence to create several options for the VIPER team to plan the rover’s path during its mission to the lunar South Pole. Today, we’ll share more about how AI also is used to help human operators drive VIPER [...]