Mission One achieved lunar distance but won't make it to the Moon surface
Peregrine reached Lunar Orbit on January 12th (Credit: Astrobotic)
LifeShip's DNA bank achieved lunar distance and went over 384,000 km (238,855 miles) from Earth. We made it to cislunar space!
However, we won't be landing on the Moon. There was a fuel leak detected early in Astrobotic's mission, likely due to a stuck valve, and there is not enough fuel to soft land on the Moon. Astrobotic is keeping Peregrine operational as long as possible and testing the payloads and instruments on the spacecraft. Many of the instruments are doing meaningful science and gathering important data about the environment in interplanetary space.
The spacecraft is near apogee, the furthest point away on an orbit, and will soon begin the return leg of the first orbit.
There is still uncertainty to the predictions of the trajectory. The latest estimates show the spacecraft will likely burn up in Earth's atmosphere on this or a future return leg.
Follow along for mission updates: @astrobotic on X / Twitter.
Space is hard. There is a reason humans have not returned to the Moon in over 50 years. Humanity is in a new exciting time for space exploration. Many more spacecraft are launching to the Moon soon. These missions are built by private industry and taking a faster, less expensive, and riskier development path than government space agencies traditionally take. That means we'll see more failed missions initially but then frequent and low cost access to the Moon and beyond. This is how human space settlement will happen. An agile approach will open the space frontier.
What's Next for LifeShip
We are so excited about LifeShip's future! LifeShip is an agile mission to the stars. We are confirmed on three upcoming space missions, with two going to the Moon. Everyone who was onboard Mission One will fly again for free on Mission Two. We saved a copy of DNA and all content to go on future missions. At LifeShip, we guarantee you get to the Moon and we keep flying you for free until you get there.
LifeShip is not about a single mission. Our first two launches made it to the International Space Station at 450 km above Earth. This mission made it 384,400 km from Earth. At LifeShip, we are proud of this as our next step.
Our next lunar mission is scheduled for late 2024 with Firefly Aerospace. Everyone who flew on Lunar Mission One will fly on Lunar Mission Two with Firefly. It is going to be even more exciting!
Onwards and Upwards
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