NASA pushes back Artemis missions after lunar failure

The mission launched successfully on the Vulcan Centaur rocket
An anomaly was detected on the lunar lander
It appears unlikely the Peregrine will reach the moon's surface

Updated: Jan 9, 2024 / 02:28 PM CST

The brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur, lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41d at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 8, 2024, for its maiden voyage, carrying Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander. The mission, called Cert-1, will also carry on board the cremated remains of several people associated with the original “Star Trek” series, including creator Gene Roddenberry and cast member Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed the character Uhura. Roddenberry’s ashes have been launched into orbit before. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — NASA announced that the Artemis 2 and 3 flights will be pushed back shortly after private space company Astrobotic announced the failure of the Peregrine mission.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson said the agency would be pushing back the launch of Artemis 2, which would send humans to orbit the moon, until September 2025 and the launch of Artemis 3, which would land humans on the surface of the moon, until September 2026.

Shortly before the announcement, Astrobotic announced that it would lo longer be possible for the Peregrine lunar lander to softly land on the moon and said it was working to gather as much data as possible for what was left of the spacecraft’s operating life, estimated to be around 40 hours.

The Peregrine mission, part of the Artemis program which is dedicated to returning humans to the moon, got off to a successful start with the previously untested Vulcan Centaur launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Monday morning.

After the Peregrine lunar lander separated from the rocket, however, Atrobotic announced there had been an anomaly that prevented the craft from successfully orienting itself toward the sun to charge its battery.

After further investigation, the company determined there was a failure in the propulsion system, resulting in a critical loss of propellant. On X, formerly known as Twitter, the company said it was working to get Peregrine as close to lunar distance as possible before losing power.

Given the issues, it appears unlikely that Peregrine will make a landing on the moon, where it would have become the first American spacecraft to land there since 1972 and the end of the Apollo program.

It’s also a less-than-stellar start for NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Services mission, an experiment with NASA relying on private companies to produce robotic landers in exchange for lower cost.

The program is a contrast to the 1960s Apollo programs where NASA built its own landers. While more expensive for NASA, it also meant the agency had control over the development of the spacecraft rather than acting as a primary customer for private industry projects.

In addition to technical hurdles, Peregrine was also facing outcry from the Navajo Nation over the inclusion of human cremains as part of the payload. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren wrote an open letter calling the practice “desecration” as the moon plays such a critical role in the spirituality of many indigenous groups, including those of the Navajo Nation.

NASA has had an agreement to inform Navajo Nation of any human remains sent to the moon since 1999; however, the agency argued because it was a private mission, it did not have a responsibility for what other clients included on the mission.