The first U.S. moon landing mission in more than 50 years is in jeopardy after suffering from a "critical loss of propellant."
In an update late Monday, Astrobotic Technology said the thrusters preventing its Peregrine lunar lander from tumbling uncontrollably through space are quickly losing fuel.
"An ongoing propellant leak is causing the spacecraft's Attitude Control System (ACS) thrusters to operate well beyond their expected service life cycles to keep the lander from an uncontrollable tumble," Astrobotic said. Those thrusters are currently keeping the lander pointed at the sun to charge its solar battery.
"If the thrusters can continue to operate, we believe the spacecraft could continue in a stable sun pointing state for approximately 40 more hours, based on current fuel consumption," Astrobotic estimated. That time frame would give the spacecraft until Wednesday before it runs out of fuel.
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"At this time, the goal is to get Peregrine as close to lunar distance as we can before it loses the ability to maintain its sun-pointing position and subsequently loses power," Astrobotic said.
NASA contracted Astrobotic to deliver five payloads to the moon aboard its lander, the Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One, in a $108 million contract as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
Peregrine blasted off on a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 2:18 a.m. on Monday in what was the NASA program's inaugural launch.
However, the mission went sideways when a failure in the spacecraft's propulsion system caused a "critical loss of failure" that forced Astrobotic to abandon its moon landing mission.
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"The team is working to try and stabilize this loss, but given the situation, we have prioritized maximizing the science and data we can capture. We are currently assessing what alternative mission profiles may be feasible at this time," the company said.
Astrobotic released the first image taken by Peregrine in space on Monday afternoon, which showed Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) in the foreground.
"The disturbance of the MLI is the first visual clue that aligns with our telemetry data that points to a propulsion system anomaly," Astrobotic said.
The mission team is working around the clock to perform as many payload and spacecraft operations as possible while Peregrine still has battery life, the company said.
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In addition to the NASA payloads, the Peregrine lander is carrying the remains of several "Star Trek" cast members and the DNA of President John F. Kennedy, Sky News reported.
Before the announcement of the "anomaly," Astrobotic said the Peregrine craft would attempt a landing on the moon on Feb. 23.
"Peregrine could become the first commercial lander, and first American lander in over 50 years, to land on the moon," it said.
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The last U.S. mission to the moon was Apollo 17 in 1972.
Astrobotic also said Monday that the launch was the "maiden flight" of the Vulcan rocket, developed by the Lockheed-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance.
Fox Business' Greg Norman contributed to this report.
