According to Astrobotic, after the historic launch of a Vulcan rocket, the special Moon lander Peregrine encountered an anomaly. The company is responding to incidents in real time and plans to provide updates as new data is received and analyzed.

The Astrobotic Peregrine mission began with the successful launch of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket into an elliptical orbit before dawn today (January 8). This is the first flight of a new launch vehicle, and the descending Peregrine could be the first private spacecraft to successfully reach the lunar surface.

However, shortly after the start of the flight, an anomaly occurred that could disrupt the course of the mission. Astrobotic reported that the lander was unable to stabilize its position relative to the Sun due to thrust instability.

Peregrine carries a variety of commercial and scientific cargo. NASA has contracted Astrobotic to conduct five scientific experiments, including studies of the Moon’s surface, atmosphere, and radiation environment. In addition, Peregrine hosts robots from Mexico as well as a lunar rover created by Carnegie Mellon University students. The ship also contains a fragment of Everest, human DNA, and artifacts provided by Celestis and Elysium Space as part of their space commemoration programs. Monthly bitcoins, miniature book archives, and other non-scientific commercial cargo such as messages from around the world.

The main problem facing Peregrine relates to its autonomous operation. To generate energy for the ship, solar panels must be pointed at the Sun. However, due to an anomaly in the propulsion system, the spacecraft was unable to stabilize its position and the battery reached a low charge level.

The Astrobotics team is working to resolve the issue and get it back up and running. They improvised a maneuver to reorient the solar panels relative to the Sun and thus increase the battery charge. Although the anomaly poses a threat to the mission, Astrobotic will continue to work to resolve the issue. If it is possible to restore operation and stabilize the position of the spacecraft, Peregrine will be able to successfully reach the lunar surface.

To reach the Moon, Peregrine has already completed a flight around the Earth to correct its course and enter a highly elliptical lunar orbit. If successful, the Moon will descend and circle its orbit at an altitude of approximately 100 kilometers before beginning its descent into the south polar region of the lunar surface on February 23. While Peregrine faces problems, ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket continues its successful first flight.