Plans for lunar landing scrapped after spacecraft fuel leak

According to an American aerospace company, plans to land a spacecraft on the moon have been canceled due to a fuel leak.

Astrobotic Technology said in a statement posted Tuesday on Platform The spacecraft launched early Monday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

“Given propellant leaks, there is unfortunately no possibility of a soft landing on the moon,” the company said in a statement about the X. read.

“However, there is still enough propellant to continue operating as a spacecraft,” the Astrobotic Technology statement continued. “The team has updated its estimates. We currently expect to run out of propellant within approximately 40 hours from now. This is an improvement over last night's estimate.”

Astrobiotic said it continues to “receive valuable data and certify components and software for spaceflight operations” in connection with its upcoming moon landing mission, called Griffin.

The Pittsburgh-based aerospace company said Monday that an “anomaly” prevented the spacecraft from “reaching a stable sun-facing position” and compromised its ability to receive solar energy. Flight engineers were able to point Peregrine toward the sun and obtain solar energy, but then communications were lost.

“Overnight, the team faced another problem with the spacecraft's orientation, but they persisted. The spacecraft began tilting away from the sun, reducing its solar power output,” the company said. Tuesday's statement reads. “The team updated the control algorithm and was able to resolve this issue. The battery is fully charged.”

The company aimed to become the first private company to successfully land on the moon. A second civilian moon landing project is scheduled to begin next month. Both Peregrine and the upcoming project are supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).