2024-01-21 08:30:00
Updated 01/21/2024, 03:30 a.m. m.
The head of the American space company, whose lunar lander failed this week in its mission to reach the Moon, expressed optimism on Friday that the next attempt will achieve its goal.
“I am now more confident than ever that our next mission will be successful and land on the surface of the Moon,” John Thornton, head of Astrobotic, declared at a press conference, while highlighting the challenges that his team had overcome in the “ unexpected but very exciting mission.”
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander was launched on January 8 under a new experimental partnership between the US space agency NASA and private industry aimed at reducing costs for US taxpayers and seeding a lunar economy.
But the lander suffered an explosion shortly following separating from its rocket and a fuel leak occurred that damaged its outer shell and prevented it from reaching its destination.
Thornton said the problem was probably due to a faulty valve and that a full investigation would be carried out.
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But he was optimistic regarding the mission.
“After that anomaly, we had one victory following another, proving that the spacecraft worked in space and that the payloads might work,” he said, referring to the scientific experiments on board, particularly by NASA, which were able to collect data.
Astrobotic’s next mission, scheduled for November, involves transporting a NASA-developed explorer to the South Pole of the Moon, where American astronauts are scheduled to explore in the coming years.
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