Peregrine spacecraft cannot land on Moon and returns to Earth. It will burn up in its atmosphere

The American company Astrobotic's lunar lander Peregrine, which lost a significant amount of fuel while moving towards its intended target, is currently returning to Earth. Developers stated that it is likely the spacecraft will reach our planet, after which it will burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

The lunar module Peregrine launched into space on January 8, but shortly after reaching orbit, it experienced a fuel loss due to a malfunction in its propulsion system. Although the spacecraft is in an orbit that would allow it to reach the Moon, the prospect of landing on the lunar surface is no longer feasible due to insufficient fuel. Astrobotic confirmed that a soft landing for Peregrine is impossible.

"Our ability to analyze the situation was complicated by the fuel leak, which added uncertainties in predicting the spacecraft's trajectory. According to the latest estimates, the spacecraft is moving towards Earth, where it will likely burn up in the atmosphere," stated Astrobotic in an announcement.

The message also mentioned that the Astrobotic team is currently assessing options, and as information becomes available, the company will provide further updates. It was previously reported that the fuel leak had slowed down, allowing Peregrine to operate longer than initially anticipated when the problem was first detected. At present, the spacecraft is approximately 389,000 km away from Earth.