ORLANDO, Fla. — While Astrobotic Technology’s moon landing hopes were dashed soon after liftoff this month from the Space Coast, the Peregrine lunar lander has continued to remain alive in its new role as a spacecraft despite continued warnings the vehicle would lose power. Notwithstanding the Peregrine's tenacity, the Pittsburgh-based company that became the first to launch on one of NASA’s .
We’re still reeling from last week’s Astrobotic failure, in which a catastrophic propellant leak rendered the Peregrine lunar lander incapable of completing its Moon landing mission. It’s not the outcome we were hoping for, but the global space community doesn’t have to wait long for another opportunity at lunar exploration success: Japan’s SLIM is slated to attempt an innovative lunar landing this Friday morning.
Its mission to touchdown on the moon failed last week due to a propellant leak on board the spacecraft. That leak slowed on Saturday, but astrobotics said that it expects the lander to burn up as it re-enters Earth's atmosphere.