First US lunar lander in 50 years heads for moon, what could go wrong? | DW News

The first US-based spacecraft to attempt a moon landing in more than half a century blasted off in the predawn hours Monday morning from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The "Vulcan" rocket, built by Boeing and Lockheed Martin's "United Launch Alliance" (ULA), lifted off from the space station at 2:18 a.m. On board the rocket is Astrobotic Technology's lunar lander, "Peregrine."

It separated successfully from the rocket but the company says its spacecraft experienced an "anomaly" that stopped it from pointing its solar panels at the Sun.

Without the ability to charge batteries and maintain a power supply, the mission won't be able to proceed.


00:00 Background
00:40 Kieth Cowing, Editor of NASA Watch

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