Peregrine commercial lunar lander launches from Florida

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander launched on a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket at 7.18 GMT today (Jan 8, 2024), beginning an approximate 46-day journey to the Moon. The spacecraft is the first to fly under NASA’s commercial lunar payload services (CLPS), a new programme that will see NASA working with private companies to deliver scientific equipment to the Moon.

Alongside five NASA instruments, Peregrine will carry a further 15, including a small robot developed by Carnegie Mellon University, set to become the first US robot to operate on the lunar surface. According to NASA, the collection of instruments will facilitate study of the Moon’s exosphere, thermal properties of lunar regolith, hydrogen abundances in the soil at the landing site, as well as conduct radiation environment monitoring. 

“The first CLPS launch has sent payloads on their way to the Moon – a giant leap for humanity as we prepare to return to the lunar surface for the first time in over half a century,” said NASA chief Bill Nelson.

“These high-risk missions will not only conduct new science at the Moon, but they are supporting a growing commercial space economy while showing the strength of American technology and innovation. We have so much science to learn through CLPS missions that will help us better understand the evolution of our solar system and shape the future of human exploration for the Artemis Generation.”  

The UK has played a key role in the development of the Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS), an instrument that will examine trace gases in the lunar exosphere, as well as look for water and other volatile compounds that could help sustain crewed bases on the Moon. PITMS was developed in collaboration with STFC RAL Space, The Open University (OU) and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA GSFC), funded through UK Space Agency and European Space Agency.​

“Ambitious plans for future space exploration, including crewed missions to the Moon and Mars, will need to be informed by new scientific data,” said Prof Mark Thomson, executive chair of STFC.

“The cutting-edge instrumentation on the Peregrine Lunar Lander will gather essential data from the surface of the moon, paving the way for future manned missions that will inspire the next generations.”