American Peregrine Spacecraft Fails Lunar Mission

The American Peregrine spacecraft has returned to Earth after an unsuccessful flight toward the Moon, announced the manufacturer Astrobotic. The Peregrine was expected to enter the planet's atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean on January 18 at approximately 4:00 PM ET (01:00 AM Yerevan time on January 19).

It was reported that the craft entered the atmosphere at 4:04 PM ET over the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The company is currently awaiting government approval.

The Peregrine lunar module was launched into space via a Vulcan rocket. Attached to the module was a payload, including the flag of Ukraine and a map on a metal plate designed by the Ukraine-Britain company Spacebit.

The module was supposed to land on the Moon on February 23, but the project has been declared a failure due to an accident. According to experts, eight hours after the rocket's launch, there was a malfunction in the Peregrine module, as well as a fuel leak. The issue could not be fixed.

As previously reported, United Launch Alliance launched the Vulcan rocket carrying the ashes of customers from another company, Celestis Memorial Spaceflight. This company has been selling "space" burial services since 1994. The sending of human ashes into space has angered the Navajo people, for whom the Moon is a sacred place.