Astrobotic Technology, a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company, announced on January 18, 2024, that its Peregrine lunar lander would not be attempting a soft landing on the Moon.

The mission, which launched on January 8th, experienced a significant propellant leak, rendering a successful lunar touchdown impossible.

The company reported detecting an unexpectedly high rate of propellant loss, far exceeding the mission's operational margins.

While the precise cause of the leak is still under investigation, Astrobotic confirmed it prevented the Peregrine from having sufficient fuel to execute a controlled descent and landing.

This setback marks a significant blow to the company's ambitions and to the broader commercial lunar exploration landscape.

Despite the failed landing attempt, Astrobotic emphasized that the mission had already yielded valuable data during its transit to the Moon.

The Peregrine lander, carrying a diverse payload of scientific instruments and technology demonstrations from various customers, collected data on its journey, including measurements of radiation and space environment.

This data, though not the primary mission goal, remains a valuable contribution to space exploration knowledge.

The failure highlights the inherent risks associated with space exploration, particularly in the challenging environment of lunar landing.

While Astrobotic expressed disappointment, they also underscored the learning opportunities presented by this experience, emphasizing that the gathered data will inform future missions and improve the reliability of their lunar landing technology.

The incident also serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and challenges involved in developing and executing successful commercial space missions.

The investigation into the cause of the propellant leak will be critical for Astrobotic and the wider industry to understand and address potential issues in future lunar endeavors.

The Peregrin lunar lander, shortly after , is now expected to run out of fuel Thursday and will not be able to carry out its planned landing on the lunar surface, officials said Tuesday.

"Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the moon," Astrobotic, the of the spacecraft, said in a . "However, we do still have enough propellant to continue to operate the vehicle as a spacecraft.

"The team continues to work to find way to extend Peregrine's operational life. We are in stable operating mode and are working payload and spacecraft tests and checkouts. We continue receiving valuable data and proving spaceflight operations for components and software relating to our next lunar landing mission."

That spacecraft, known as Griffin, is a larger, more capable lunar lander scheduled to carry a NASA rover to the moon later this year. Astrobotic said lessons learned during Peregrine's abbreviated flight will be built into the new spacecraft.

The Peregrine lander was the first American spacecraft bound for the surface of the moon in more than 50 years and only the third developed as a non-government commercial venture. Two previous commercial attempts, one launched in 2019 by an Israeli group and the other in 2023 by a Japanese company, ended in crash landings on the moon.

The latest private-sector moon missions are funded under a NASA program -- the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program or CLPS -- intended to spur development of lunar transportation and surface delivery services for hire.

NASA paid Astrobotic $108 million dollars to deliver five sophisticated science instruments and a navigation sensor to the moon aboard Peregrine. The company has not yet said what might have gone wrong with Peregrine to trigger the propellant leak.

Astrobotic's Griffin, scheduled for launch later this year atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, will carry a NASA rover to the south polar region of the moon to search for signs of ice in the lunar environment.