Nasa Peregrine 1: US lander will not make it to moon’s surface due to fuel leak

Astrobotic, its creators, say the goal is to get spacecraft as far as possible before it loses power

The first moon lander to launch from the US in half a century will not make it to the lunar surface due to a fuel leak, its operators have announced, adding that their goal was now to travel as far as possible before losing power.

Peregrine 1, which is also the first commercial space probe to attempt a soft landing on the moon, suffered a “critical loss of propellant” hours after lift-off on Monday due to an “anomaly” in the propulsion system, according to Astrobotic, the US company behind the project.