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A PRIVATE US lunar lander will now return to Earth instead of attempting its planned landing on the moon.
Dubbed Peregrine, the lander has been plagued by a fuel leak since its launch earlier this month on January 8.
Astrobotic, the company behind the lander, announced this on Saturday.
The news comes after weeks of monitoring the spacecraft’s critical condition.
Peregrine’s journey began when it soared into space atop a brand new Vulcan rocket built by United Launch Alliance.
Initial hopes were high, but shortly after separating from the rocket, an onboard issue compromised the lander’s fuel reserves.
“Our latest assessment now shows the spacecraft is on a path towards Earth, where it will likely burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere,” Astrobiotic posted on X.
“The team is currently assessing options and we will update as soon as we are able.”
The mission blasted from Cape Canaveral in Florida, marking America’s first attempt at a moon landing in 50 years.
Currently, the lander has been in space for more than five days and is around 242,000 miles from Earth, the company noted.
Onboard the craft are human and animal ashes set to be scattered on the moon, a sports drink can, and a physical Bitcoin.
There is also scientific hardware provided by NASA, for an expemineta program called Commercial Lunar Payload Services.
The spacecraft is expected to burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere upon re-entry.
Astrobotic is the latest private company to have failed in a soft Moon landing, along with an Israeli nonprofit and an areocompany from Japan.
The company, however, will try another landing later this year, in November with its Griffin lander.
This missions will aim to transport NASA’s VIPER rover to the Moon’s South Pole.
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