The spacecraft is now thought to be unable to land on Earth s only natural satellite - with NASA also expected to announce delays to its manned moon mission programme.
A new era of commercial missions to the moon launched today as NASA gambles on a ride on an untested private lunar lander - alongside human remains and a marketing stunt by a sports drink manufacturer.
Communication has been re-established with a private spacecraft which is heading for the moon after it suffered propulsion problems and its battery ran very low.
NASA has paid a start-up of just $108m (£85m) for five scientific instruments to be carried to the moon - a fraction of the cost of launching its own mission.