Ailing Peregrine moon lander on path to crash into Earth, Astrobotic says

[Admin]

The beleaguered private moon lander Peregrine is now on a collision course with Earth, Astrobotic said Saturday.

Ailing Peregrine moon lander on path to crash into Earth, Astrobotic says : Read more

 

[dbrower]

I would hope there are plans to do part of the lunar mission, with separation and lander operation until it burns up.

Any flight test is better than none.

Did the accident preclude separation?

 

[AboveAndBeyond]

Any word on whether the spacecraft left earth orbit on what's called a free return trajectory, like the early Apollo missions to the moon (8 to 13, IIRC), which would bring it back to earth's vicinity if nothing else was done (i.e., if the engines failed to fire)? Or did it not even go into earth orbit?