An American private lunar lander overcame a major hurdle on its way to its first space flight this year.
The Astrobotic-built Peregrine lunar lander completed its final space qualification tests this month, the Pittsburgh-based company announced Wednesday (Jan. 25). Engineers are now awaiting United Launch Alliance (ULA) approval to ship Peregrine from Pittsburgh to Florida with the United Launch Alliance (ULA). Vulcano Centaur Rocket.
“These tests have finally demonstrated the quality of Peregrine’s design and build,” Sharad Bhaskaran, Astrobiotic’s mission manager for Peregrine’s first mission, said in a statement. (opens in a new tab) , “Everyone worked diligently, even while on leave, for this incredible achievement.”
Peregrine is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2023 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but like all launch dates, these are subject to change based on technical issues, weather, and many other factors. The mission, the first liftoff of the new Vulcan Centaur, represents a new generation of lunar endeavors by private companies.
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NASA’s Peregrine lander carrying 11 payloads has been selected for service under the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. NASA uses private robotic landers, rovers and other spacecraft to work with astronauts from the Artemis program, who may land near the Moon’s south pole as early as 2025 in the Artemis 3 assignment.
CLPS represents a new form of lunar exploration, as all successful lunar landing attempts to date have been led by nations rather than private companies. But much of that is expected to change in 2020, as several missions develop in the United States and other countries.
The first CLPS missions will be survey efforts before astronauts land, and will be based at the future lunar south pole while NASA builds infrastructure for a possible permanent installation there. (The South Pole appears to be rich in water ice, presenting an ideal location for water-hungry machines and astronauts, as they can mine the precious resource locally rather than having to ship it from Earth.)
Artist’s rendering of two Artemis astronauts working on the lunar surface. (Image credit: NASA) It is not yet clear which CLPS mission will reach the Moon first, as several attempts are planned in the coming months. In addition to Peregrine, Intuitive Machines, for example, plans to launch its Nova-C lander in the first quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, another country already has a private mission on its way to the Moon: the Hakuto-R lander, built by Tokyo-based iSpace, is expected to land in April. After landing, Hakuto-R will deploy Rashid, a small rover provided by the UAE Space Agency.
