A crippled US spacecraft was set to burn up in the atmosphere in a remote part of the South Pacific on Thursday, marking a fiery end to the failed moon landing mission.

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander launched Jan. 8 as part of a new experimental partnership between NASA and the private sector to reduce costs for American taxpayers and jump-start the lunar economy. But shortly after separation from the rocket there was an explosion and fuel has been leaking ever since, making it impossible to reach the target.

“Astrobotic has positioned the Peregrine spacecraft for a safe and controlled return to Earth in a remote region of the South Pacific,” the Pittsburgh-based company said in a statement Wednesday evening, giving coordinates several hundred miles (kilometers) south of Fiji. said. with a large margin of error.

Astrobotic added that it deliberately performed a series of small motor flares to position the golf cart-sized robot over open water and thus “minimize the risk of debris hitting land.” Peregrine remained stable and responsive as of Thursday, and the company said it was in contact with relevant governments to inform them of the ship’s planned route.

Astrobotic also tweeted a photo taken on the last day of the spacecraft’s flight, showing Earth’s crescent moon as Peregrine came between the Sun and our planet. Peregrine spent more than 10 days in space, delighting enthusiasts even after it became clear that Astrobotic would not achieve its goal of becoming the first company to make a controlled landing on the moon and the first American company to make a soft landing since then. Apollo.

NASA has paid a company more than $100 million to deliver scientific instruments to the moon under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program as it prepares to send American astronauts back to the barren world later this decade.

The astrobot also carried more colorful cargo, such as the remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, on behalf of private clients.

Although nothing came of it this time, NASA officials made it clear that the “more shots on goal” strategy meant more scoring chances. Houston-based Intuitive Machines’ next CLPS run will begin in February.

The Japan Space Agency’s Lunar Sniper, launched in September, will be the next spacecraft to attempt a soft landing on the moon shortly after midnight Japan time on Saturday (15:00 GMT on Friday); This is known to be quite a difficult task. If successful, Japan will become the fifth country to achieve this feat, after the Soviet Union, the United States, China and India.