Lunar Lander is a spacecraft that was designed to land on the surface of the moon. It’s the first time in 50 years to go to the moon. However, it faced issues after the launch that may prevent it from reaching the moon. 

The spacecraft was developed by a private company called Astrobotic Technology from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The lander encountered an issue that prevented it from achieving a stable orientation. The lander is on route to the Moon, with the company aiming to touch down on the Moon’s surface on February 23. However, Astrobotic announced that a propulsion failure caused the spacecraft to run low on propellant. The company posted on X stating:  “We are currently assessing what alternative mission profiles may be feasible at this time.”  The mission represents a new chapter for the space industry, in which private companies launch themselves into a race to make deliveries to companies like NASA in space; only four countries’ companies have accomplished this feat. NASA funded two companies $108 million to build and create their lunar landers.

The Peregrine lander was carrying five NASA instruments. In response to the technical anomaly, NASA hopes to learn from the complications caused by the technical anomaly. Joel Kearns, Deputy Associate Administrator for exploration at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate said, “We will use this lesson to propel our efforts to advance science, exploration, and commercial development of the moon.” The last time that the U.S. launched a moon mission was in December 1972. Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan, the last human to ever set footprints on the moon’s surface, and Harrison Schmitt, the 12th astronaut to walk on the moon, closed out the era that has remained NASA’s pinnacle. The Artemis program looks to return astronauts to the moon’s surface within the next few years. This will be the first lunar fly-around with four astronauts, it may happen by the end of 2024.