U.S. company Astrobotic Technology had to abandon its moon landing attempt due to a fuel leak and issues with its solar panel.
Driving the news: The company stated that the propellant leak made a soft landing on the moon impossible. This could have been the first U.S. moon landing in over 50 years and the first by a private company.
- Another lander from a Houston-based company is scheduled to launch next month.
- Only four countries have successfully landed on the moon.
What they’re saying: Astrobotic is now focused on keeping the lander operational in space to gather as much information as possible for its next mission.
- The company did not provide further details as to why the Peregrine lander’s propellant system failed during the flight.
- NASA had paid Astrobotic $108 million as part of its commercial lunar program to transport experiments to the moon.
