- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
New US lunar lander runs into technical problem: company
The first US lunar lander launched in more than five decades has experienced an anomaly preventing it from pointing its solar panels towards the Sun, the company that built the robot said Monday.
Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander separated successfully from United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket overnight from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, and quickly established communications with NASA's Deep Space Network of ground-based radio antennas.
All its systems powered on as expected, and it "entered a fully operational state," Astrobotic said in a tweet.
But "unfortunately, an anomaly occurred which prevented Astrobotic from achieving a stable sun-pointing orientation.
"The team is responding in real time as the situation unfolds and will be providing updates as data is obtained and analyzed."
The lander's documentation, available online, says that while in orbit, Peregrine's top mounted solar panel stays pointed at the Sun to enable maximum power generation.
"The solar panel is utilized to provide battery charge and maintain lander and payload operations. After descent to the lunar surface the power system continues to provide reliable power services to payloads through the end of mission," it says.
Peregrine is on its way to the Moon and is supposed to hold its orbit before finally landing on a mid-latitude region called Sinus Viscositatis, or Bay of Stickiness, on February 23.
Until now, a soft landing on Earth's nearest celestial neighbor has only been accomplished by a handful of nations. But the United States and others are increasingly turning to the commercial sector to carry out routine missions and ship hardware at a fraction of the cost.
M.P.Jacobs--CPN