Peregrine Is No More, While Japan Became the Fifth Nation to Softly Land on the Moon...

United Launch Alliance

NASA Science, Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One Concludes (News Release)

The first flight of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery service carrying agency science and technology, as well as other customer payloads intended for the Moon, has come to an end. After 10 days and 13 hours in space, Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One made a controlled re-entry on Earth over open water in the South Pacific at approximately 4:04 p.m. EST on January 18.

Astrobotic was the first commercial vendor to launch a mission to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, which aims to advance capabilities for science, exploration or commercial development of the Moon under the agency’s Artemis campaign. There are seven additional CLPS deliveries awarded to multiple American companies, with more awards expected this year and for years to come.

The next CLPS commercial flight is targeted for no earlier than February.

Following a successful launch and separation from the rocket on January 8, the spacecraft experienced a propulsion issue preventing Peregrine from softly landing on the Moon. After analysis and recommendations from NASA and the space community, Astrobotic determined that the best option for minimizing risk and ensuring responsible disposal of the spacecraft would be to maintain Peregrine’s trajectory toward Earth, where it burned up upon re-entry.

“Space exploration is a daring task, and the science and spaceflight data collected from Astrobotic’s lunar lander is better preparing NASA for future CLPS deliveries and crewed missions under Artemis,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The future of exploration is strengthened by collaboration. Together with our commercial partners, NASA is supporting a growing commercial space economy that will help take humanity back to the Moon and beyond.”

Four out of five NASA payloads on Peregrine successfully powered on and collected data while in flight:

- Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS)
- Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS)
- Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS)
- Peregrine Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS)

NASA’s LRA (Laser Retroreflector Array) instrument is a passive experiment, and operations could only take place on the lunar surface.

NASA science teams are currently working to interpret the results. Preliminary data suggests that the instruments have measured natural radiation and chemical compounds in the area around the lander.

“Astrobotic’s Peregrine mission provided an invaluable opportunity to test our science and instruments in space, optimizing our process for collecting data and providing a benchmark for future missions,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The data collected in flight sets the stage for understanding how some of our instruments may behave in the harsh environment of space when some of the duplicates fly on future CLPS flights.”

NASA is committed to supporting its U.S. commercial vendors as they navigate the challenges of sending science and technology to the surface of the Moon.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Astrobotic

(2/2)Peregrine captured this video moments after successful separation from @ulalaunch Vulcan rocket. Counterclockwise from top left center is the DHL MoonBox, Astroscale's Pocari Sweat Lunar Dream Time Capsule, & Peregrine landing leg. Background: our big blue marble, Earth! pic.twitter.com/1y4OsosNDp

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 19, 2024

(2/3) Peregrine and its payload teams have made a meaningful contribution to our lunar future, and we thank everyone who supported this mission. Courtesy of @ulalaunch, this video was captured from their #Vulcan rocket's payload fairing.

Peregrine has flown so Griffin may land. pic.twitter.com/XweEz4OGOl

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 19, 2024

(3/3) Carnegie Mellon University's Iris rover wheels wave goodbye.

Ad luna per aspera. pic.twitter.com/BsR23PDbRt

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 19, 2024

Japan makes history with tense, successful moon landing https://t.co/M0KcsvYqDz pic.twitter.com/GRRl3iQtxr

— SpaceNews (@SpaceNews_Inc) January 19, 2024

Japan becomes fifth country to land on the moon with JAXA's SLIM spacecraft https://t.co/0ul9d2cWhO

— CNBC (@CNBC) January 19, 2024

Astrobotic Continues to Make the Most of Its Ill-Fated Inaugural Lunar Mission...

Astrobotic

NASA Science, Data Collection Ongoing Aboard Peregrine Mission One (News Release)

NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative aims to deliver science and technology to the Moon to advance our capabilities in lunar exploration. Shortly after launch, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander experienced a failure in the propulsion system, causing a critical loss of propellant.

Astrobotic announced that due to the failure, Peregrine will not achieve a soft lunar landing for this mission. Efforts by the Astrobotic team have recovered the spacecraft and allowed Peregrine to remain operationally stable collecting data about the interplanetary environment.

All NASA payloads that can power on have received power and are effectively gathering data, although interpreting the results will require some time.

Both Astrobotic and NASA are taking advantage of this flight time by extending the science of Peregrine Mission One into cislunar space. NASA payloads including NSS (Neutron Spectrometer System), LETS (Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer), PITMS (Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer) and NIRVSS (Near Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System) have successfully powered on while the spacecraft has been operationally stable.

Since the LRA (Laser Retroreflector Array) instrument is a passive experiment that can only be conducted on the lunar surface, it cannot conduct any operations in transit.

A novel NASA space technology guidance and navigation sensor, which Astrobotic incorporated as a Peregrine lander component, NDL (Navigation Doppler Lidar), has also been successfully powered on.

“Measurements and operations of the NASA-provided science instruments on board will provide valuable experience, technical knowledge and scientific data to future CLPS lunar deliveries,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Some of the NASA-provided payloads aboard Peregrine were already scheduled for future lunar flights. The team is taking this opportunity to collect as much science data as possible and to further characterize the performance and functionality of the science instruments while the spacecraft follows its current trajectory.

Astrobotic is striving to extend Peregrine’s mission, allowing for additional data collection for NASA’s and other customers’ payloads.

Two of the payloads, NSS and LETS, are making measurements of the radiation environment in interplanetary space around the Earth and the Moon. The two instruments are measuring different components of the radiation spectrum, which provide complementary insights into the galactic cosmic ray activity and space weather resulting from solar activity.

This data helps characterize the interplanetary radiation environment for humans and electronics.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Update #13 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/boDu78hmoh

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 12, 2024

The Peregrine Lander Is Now at the Launch Complex for Its January 8 Flight to the Moon!

United Launch Alliance

Vulcan Cert-1: Payloads Mounted Atop Rocket for Launch (News Release)

The payload complement for the inaugural United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket is atop the launch vehicle in preparation for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on January 8 at 2:18 a.m. ET.

The Certification-1 (Cert-1) flight test will launch the first Astrobotic Peregrine commercial lunar lander into a highly-elliptical orbit more than 220,000 miles (360,000 km) above Earth to intercept the Moon and carry a Celestis Memorial Spaceflight Payload into deep space.

Peregrine is slated to be the first private American spacecraft to be launched as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative to deliver science and technology experiments to the lunar surface. The Celestis payload includes cremated remains of the creator and beloved stars of the original Star Trek television series and DNA samples of former U.S. presidents.

The Cert-1 cargo, already encapsulated in the composite payload fairing measuring 17.7 feet (5.4 meters) in diameter and 51 feet (15.5 meters) in length, was moved overnight from the payload processing facility to ULA’s Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) adjacent to Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41.

This morning, ULA technicians attached the lifting sling to the payload and hoisted it into the VIF for connection to the Centaur V upper stage of the Vulcan rocket, which now stands fully assembled at 202 feet (61.6 meters) tall.

Integrated testing and a complete electrical checkout of the combined rocket and payload will be completed in the coming days while final readiness reviews and closeout activities are performed in preparation for rollout of the rocket on its Vulcan Launch Platform (VLP) to SLC-41 for the countdown and liftoff.

For this inaugural flight, the rocket is flying in the Vulcan VC2S variant. The two-stage rocket uses two BE-4 methane-fueled engines on the booster stage, two GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters, dual RL10C-1-1A engines on the Centaur V upper stage and encapsulates the spacecraft in the standard-sized Out-of-Autoclave (OoA) payload fairing.

Peregrine is equipped with a diverse suite of scientific instruments, technologies, mementos and other payloads from seven different countries, dozens of science teams and hundreds of individuals. The lander also carries a shoebox-sized, 2 kg (4.4-pound) rover, called Iris, that was built by Carnegie Mellon students to take geological images.

NASA's payload suite includes a LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensor to determine the Peregrine spacecraft's exact velocity and position to land, laser retroreflectors for use in determining the lander's precise location, a radiation sensor to collect information about the lunar environment and spectrometers to measure resources at the landing site and the lunar exosphere.

NASA is working with American companies to deliver scientific, exploration and technology payloads to the Moon’s surface and orbit. The science investigations and technology demonstrations delivered to the lunar surface through CLPS are part of the agency’s broader goal of returning humans to the Moon through the Artemis program.

The Peregrine landing site is an ancient, hardened lava flow – outside of the Gruithuisen Domes, a geologic enigma along the highlands boundary on the northeast border of the Ocean of Storms, the largest dark spot on the Moon. The Domes are suspected to have been formed by a sticky magma rich in silica, similar in composition to granite.

On Earth, formations like these need significant water content and plate tectonics to form, but without these key ingredients on the Moon, lunar scientists have been left to wonder how these domes formed and evolved over time.

The spacecraft stands 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) tall and 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) wide. It will operate for approximately 10 days on the surface.

The Celestis mission will launch 265 flight capsules containing cremated remains, DNA samples and messages of greetings from clients worldwide on an endless journey in interplanetary space beyond the Earth-Moon system and orbit the Sun forever. Aboard are the creator of the original Star Trek television series, Gene Roddenberry, his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry, and cast members Nichelle Nichols, the actress who played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, and beloved actor, James "Scotty" Doohan who played the chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise.

DNA samples of former U.S. presidents George Washington, John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower will also be part of the Celestis memorial payload, together with people from all walks of life, interests and vocations.

The Celestis payload will remain affixed to the Centaur V, which will be placed in a hyperbolic orbit around the Sun following completion of the Peregrine portion of the launch and subsequent propellant depletion and standard safing activities for an upper stage. It will remain in this orbit for eternity.

This is the first of two flight tests required for ULA's certification process with the U.S. Space Force. ULA has worked in close partnership with the Space Force throughout the design, development, testing and production of the next-generation rocket for assured access to space.

The Space Force selected Vulcan as the No. 1 offeror and "best value" choice in the Phase 2 National Security Space Launch (NSSL) competition.

Source: United Launch Alliance

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United Launch Alliance


United Launch Alliance


United Launch Alliance

Photos of the Day: The Peregrine Lander and Iris Rover Have Taken Their First Step to the Moon!

Astrobotic

Just thought I'd share these exciting images that were posted online today showing the Peregrine lander—with the student-built Iris Rover attached to it—getting ready to ship from Astrobotic's headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida!

Peregrine departed from Astrobotic early this morning, and should take a few days to reach United Launch Alliance's (ULA) facilities at CCSFS.

This momentous milestone comes a few days after ULA began assembling the Vulcan rocket (tasked with sending Peregrine and Iris to the Moon) inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at CCSFS' Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41. The Centaur V that will fly with this Vulcan vehicle and give Peregrine the final boost needed to escape Earth's gravity and head to lunar orbit will arrive at SLC-41 next month...after undergoing modifications to its liquid hydrogen fuel tank (at ULA's rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama) following a mishap with a Centaur V test article at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center earlier this year.

Peregrine will have its five main engine nozzles installed once it arrives at the ULA facilities in Florida. After that, the lander will be encapsulated by the Vulcan's twin payload fairings, sent to the VIF to be mated with the Centaur V and the rest of the rocket, and then rolled out to the SLC-41 pad for launch—which is now scheduled for Sunday, December 24!

Exciting times ahead...


Astrobotic


Astrobotic


Astrobotic

The #VulcanRocket #Cert1 launch campaign includes hoisting the first stage aboard the Vulcan Launch Platform, installing two GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters, interstage & Centaur V, performing a final Wet Dress Rehearsal & attaching the encapsulated payload. #CountdowntoVulcan pic.twitter.com/9Bgjm4svlC

— ULA (@ulalaunch) October 26, 2023

Still running ahead of schedule. Here it is in the finishing station. #CountDowntoVulcan #VulcanRocket https://t.co/QdOZ878VKB pic.twitter.com/nOPtqcPqzY

— Tory Bruno (@torybruno) October 26, 2023

Carnegie Mellon University has started its historic journey to the moon! Iris, a tiny, lightweight lunar rover built by CMU students, and MoonArk, a collaborative sculpture project led by faculty, students and alumni, is en route to a Florida launch pad🌒https://t.co/u13sHUQ1ux pic.twitter.com/pq7A8BqzPl

— Carnegie Mellon University (@CarnegieMellon) October 27, 2023

Peregrine Update #2: Astrobotic's Moon-bound Robotic Spacecraft Continues to Take Form...

Astrobotic

Earlier today, Astrobotic released the last two photos below showing that its Peregrine Moon lander continues to make progress as it will soon complete assembly in Pittsburgh, PA. Once construction is finished, the lunar spacecraft will begin pre-flight tests before heading out to Florida for its launch aboard a Vulcan Centaur rocket early next year.

Based on the illustration above, it appears that the last major components to be added are the front and rear enclosure decks, as well as the four legs to be reinstalled.

However, the five main engines and altitude control system thrusters aren't visible at the bottom of the lander in the two new images, so it seems like they might be a work in progress as well.

With that being said, it's still great to see the Peregrine lander take shape! And visible in the very last pic below is the student-built Iris Rover after it was attached to one of Peregrine's payload decks almost a year ago. This definitely has to be exciting news for Carnegie Mellon University...which constructed the four-wheeled lunar explorer!

Happy Friday.


Astrobotic / Keystone Space Collaborative


Astrobotic


Astrobotic

Peregrine Update: Taking Our First Official Glimpse of the Moon-bound Robotic Spacecraft...

Astrobotic / Keystone Space Collaborative

Astrobotic Unveils Peregrine Lunar Lander Flight Model (News Release)

Pittsburgh, PA - Astrobotic unveiled the flight model of its Peregrine lunar lander on Wednesday morning during a visit by top NASA and government officials to the company’s headquarters. The flight model, as opposed to earlier test models, is the version of Peregrine that will actually fly to the Moon on a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket. Its unveiling is a sign of Peregrine’s state of readiness as it moves closer to its launch date, scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year. Peregrine is the first lander in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative to unveil its flight model, and could become the first American spacecraft to land on the Moon since the Apollo program.

Attendees of Peregrine’s unveiling included Congressman Matt Cartwright, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator and former U.S. senator, Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, and James Reuter, Associate Administrator for the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. The officials also attended the inaugural conference of the Keystone Space Collaborative, a consortium of Pennsylvania companies dedicated to growing the local commercial space industry, of which Astrobotic is a member.

Peregrine’s unveiling took place at Astrobotic’s Pittsburgh, PA, headquarters, an approximately 50,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility dedicated to developing and operating lunar spacecraft. Because the flight model must be kept free of contamination of sensitive spacecraft components, attendees were required to suit up in white coveralls and hairnets to enter the cleanroom where Peregrine is being assembled.

“This lunar lander build is a dream come true,” said John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic. “This is why our company was founded 15 years ago. It represents the culmination of countless hours over many years by hundreds of people to design and assemble the lander, to create the lunar delivery market, and to establish the facilities and supply chain needed to ensure the success of commercial space missions like Peregrine’s long into the future.”

Also present in the cleanroom were the 24 payloads that Peregrine will be delivering to the lunar surface. These include scientific instruments from three national space agencies – including 11 from NASA alone – a rover from Carnegie Mellon University, several payloads from commercial companies, and cultural messages from individuals around the Earth. The payloads are already integrated onto Peregrine’s flight decks, which are awaiting installation on the greater lander. Once Peregrine’s integration is complete, it will head to spacecraft environmental testing, before being shipped to Cape Canaveral in Florida to begin its final preparations for launch in Q4 2022.

Source: Astrobotic

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Astrobotic

One Step Closer to the Moon: The Iris Rover Is Now Attached to the Peregrine Spacecraft at Astrobotic!

Carnegie Mellon University

CMU's Iris Rover Secured to Lunar Lander (News Release)

Integration among final steps before launch of student-led Moon mission

Carnegie Mellon University's Iris rover is bolted in and ready for its journey to the Moon.

The tiny rover passed a huge milestone on Wednesday, Dec. 1, when it was secured to one of the payload decks of Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander, which will deliver it to the Moon next year.

"It is exciting to reach this make-or-break milestone with only days left to the deadline after pursuing this goal for years," said Raewyn Duvall, the program manager for Iris and a Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering. "Success was so elusive with many development setbacks and schedule delays, and it has been hard-earned by the team. We gave this everything. Now success on the Moon is up to the robot."

Weighing in at about 4 pounds, the shoebox-sized Iris aims to be the first American, student-developed, smallest and lightest rover to land on the Moon. It is equipped with cameras to facilitate both its guidance and scientific observations of the Moon's terrain and rock formations.

Work to integrate the Iris rover with the Peregrine lander started Monday inside the clean room at Astrobotic's state-of-the-art headquarters in Pittsburgh. Technicians and the CMU integration team — clad in white gowns, hairnets, masks and gloves — delicately secured Iris to the underside of one of Peregrine's payload decks.

Before Iris could be attached to the lander, the rover had to pass a series of tests to ensure that it could fit in its allotted space, withstand the vibrations expected during launch, endure the vacuum of space and survive the temperatures expected on the Moon. The CMU team tested its electronic emissions to ensure that they do not interfere with the lander or other payloads.

"This success is a testament to the more than 200 CMU students who worked on Iris over the span of three years. The initiative is a pinnacle of human achievement as much as it is a masterwork of technical virtuosity," said Red Whittaker, the Fredkin Professor of Robotics and director of the Field Robotics Center.

Iris is among the last payloads to be secured to the Peregrine lander. MoonArk, CMU's other payload on this mission, is already integrated to its payload deck. The intricate titanium, platinum and sapphire artifact contains hundreds of images, poems and music relating to arts, humanities, science and technologies. Peregrine will carry more than 18 payloads, including Iris and MoonArk.

Source: Carnegie Mellon University

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ONLY 3 DAYS REMAIN for You to Send Your Name to the Moon by Supporting the Iris Lunar Rover!

Carnegie Mellon University

Just thought I'd re-share this cool crowdfunding campaign where you can send your name to the Moon by donating a generous contribution to the Iris lunar mission! This miniature, student-built rover is set to fly later this year aboard Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander...which is hitching a NASA-sponsored ride on the United Launch Alliance's newest rocket, the Vulcan Centaur. The students at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)—which constructed Iris—are looking to gain extra funding to cover the final cost of this mission (which includes paying for vital pre-launch tests of flight components, as well as funding the operational cost of the project's Mission Control itself)...and they're looking to the general public for help in doing so. Their campaign goal is to reach at least $50,000 (they're currently at $39,411), and they have until SATURDAY, MAY 1 to achieve it. It will be up to CMU to decide whether or not the Iris Team can keep the money already donated if they fail to reach their goal.

So here is the link where you can make the dreams of many aspiring college students, who are clearly passionate about space exploration, a reality:

https://crowdfunding.cmu.edu/campaigns/moonshot#/

For your awesome donation—which can be as little as $50—your name will be included with those of other benefactors (like me) on the flash memory aboard the Iris Rover! Ad lunam.


Carnegie Mellon University


Astrobotic




United Launch Alliance


United Launch Alliance

ONLY 14 DAYS REMAIN: Send Your Name to the Moon by Supporting the Iris Lunar Rover!

Carnegie Mellon University

Just thought I'd share this cool crowdfunding campaign where you can send your name to the Moon by donating a generous contribution to the Iris lunar mission! This miniature, student-built rover is set to fly later this year aboard Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander...which is hitching a NASA-sponsored ride on the United Launch Alliance's newest rocket, the Vulcan Centaur. The students at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)—which constructed Iris—are looking to gain extra funding to cover the final cost of this mission (which includes paying for vital pre-launch tests of flight components, as well as funding the operational cost of the project's Mission Control itself)...and they're looking to the general public for help in doing so. Their campaign goal is to reach at least $50,000 (they're currently at $23,332), and they have until SATURDAY, MAY 1 to achieve it. It will be up to CMU to decide whether or not the Iris Team can keep the money already donated if they fail to reach their goal.

So here is the link where you can make the dreams of many aspiring college students, who are clearly passionate about space exploration, a reality:

https://crowdfunding.cmu.edu/campaigns/moonshot#/

For your awesome donation, your name will be included with those of other benefactors (like me) on the flash memory aboard the Iris Rover! Ad lunam.

(And FYI, I went to college at California State University, Long Beach! Class of 2004, baby... Our new mascot is Elbee the Shark.)




Astrobotic


United Launch Alliance