ExplainersAutonomous space systems
What is Astrobotic Peregrine?
Astrobotic Peregrine was a commercial lunar lander mission by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology. The mission launched in January 2024 but suffered a propellant leak shortly after deployment from the upper stage; lunar landing was never attempted. The lander burned up on planned re-entry. The mission is documented as a failure at primary-source verification depth.
What Peregrine was
Astrobotic Technology is a US commercial space company headquartered in Pittsburgh. Peregrine was the company's first lunar lander mission under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Peregrine launched on the inaugural flight of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket on January 8, 2024.
Mission outcome
A propellant leak was identified shortly after the lander separated from Vulcan Centaur. The leak was traced to a stuck valve in the propulsion system that prevented the lander from holding the required pressure. Lunar landing was not attempted; the propellant loss made the planned trajectory impossible.
After several days of evaluation, Astrobotic conducted a controlled re-entry over the South Pacific. The lander burned up as planned during re-entry on January 18, 2024.
Verification posture
Mission failure documented at primary-source verification depth: Astrobotic's published mission record, NASA CLPS mission documentation, and tier-1 news coverage of the propellant leak and re-entry. The cause was traced to a propulsion system valve failure.
Per the verified-vs-claimed framework, Peregrine never reached the verification threshold for lunar landing autonomy because lunar landing was never attempted. The propulsion failure is a hardware integration failure mode; the autonomy capability was not tested in flight.
Cohort context
Peregrine is alongside ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 1 and Mission 2 as the commercial lunar landing missions in the 2023-2025 wave that did not achieve a soft landing. Intuitive Machines IM-1 and IM-2 soft-landed but tipped; Firefly Blue Ghost is the only full-success landing.
Astrobotic continues
Astrobotic has additional CLPS missions on contract, including Griffin Mission 1, which is a larger lunar lander designed to deliver NASA's VIPER rover. The framework records the maker's continuing operational state separately from the Peregrine mission outcome; see the deployment lifecycle methodology.
For the cohort umbrella, see What is autonomous space systems.
Frequently asked questions
- Did Astrobotic Peregrine land on the Moon?
No. A propellant leak was identified shortly after the lander separated from Vulcan Centaur. The leak made the planned trajectory impossible; lunar landing was never attempted. The lander burned up on a controlled re-entry over the South Pacific on January 18, 2024.
- What caused the Peregrine failure?
A stuck valve in the propulsion system prevented the lander from holding required pressure. This is a hardware integration failure mode in the propulsion subsystem. The autonomy capability was not tested in flight because the trajectory required for lunar landing could not be achieved.
- Is Astrobotic still operating after the Peregrine failure?
Yes. Astrobotic has additional CLPS missions on contract including Griffin Mission 1, a larger lunar lander designed to deliver NASA's VIPER rover. The framework records corporate-state continuation separately from mission outcomes.
- Did the autonomy fail on Peregrine?
The autonomy capability was not tested in flight because the propulsion failure made lunar landing impossible. The framework records this as autonomy untested rather than autonomy failed; subsequent Astrobotic missions will test the autonomy in flight.
- What payloads were on Peregrine?
Peregrine carried a mix of NASA CLPS science payloads, commercial payloads, and memorial payloads. The specific manifest is documented in Astrobotic's mission record and NASA CLPS materials. All payloads were lost with the lander on re-entry.
- How does Peregrine compare to ispace HAKUTO-R?
Both missions failed before achieving a soft landing on the Moon. Peregrine never attempted landing due to a propulsion failure; HAKUTO-R Mission 1 and Mission 2 both reached the descent phase but crashed. Both are documented mission failures at primary-source verification depth.
Peregrine mission outcome verified at Astrobotic primary-source mission record depth plus NASA CLPS mission documentation plus tier-1 news coverage of the propellant leak and re-entry. Cause traced to a propulsion system valve failure. Autonomy capability not tested in flight. How DEPLOY verifies →