US Moon Landing Mission Could Be in Jeopardy After ‘Critical Loss’ of Fuel

Lunar lander Peregrine has suffered a critical loss of propellant, which could spell doom for the first US mission to the moon in over 50 years.

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, Fla., for its maiden voyage, carrying Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander on Jan. 8, 2024. CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP

A “critical loss” of fuel caused by a leak may have doomed the United States’s first attempt to land a craft on the moon in over five decades.

Astrobotic Technology, a private company based in Pittsburgh, announced the launch of its unmanned lunar landing, Peregrine, on Jan. 8. In the early hours of the morning, the craft launched on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.