Astrobotic's Peregrine packed with NASA science gear and other payloads may be a bust

The first commercial American Moon lander – built by startup Astrobotic to carry NASA instruments and private payloads to the lunar surface – is in trouble: the spacecraft's propulsion system malfunctioned shortly after launch on Monday.

Astrobotic 搭載NASA 科學裝備和其他有效載荷的Peregrine 可能會失敗第一個商業美國月球著陸器——由新創公司Astrobotic 建造，用於將NASA 儀器和私人有效載荷運送到月球表面——遇到了麻煩：航天器的推進系統在周一發射後不久就出現故障。

Selected for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, US-based Astrobotic was poised to become the first-ever company to successfully land on the surface of the Moon, a feat that has only been achieved by governmental space agencies in America, the Soviet Union, China, and India so far.

總部位於美國的 Astrobotic 被選為 NASA 商業月球有效載荷服務 (CLPS) 計劃的一員，預計將成為第一家成功登陸月球表面的公司，這一壯舉只有美國政府航天機構才能實現。到目前為止，還有蘇聯、中國和印度。

The company's Peregrine Lunar Lander suffered an anomaly and was forced to enter safe mode, despite being successfully launched into space earlier in the day.

儘管該公司的遊隼月球登陸器已在當天早些時候成功發射到太空，但仍出現異常並被迫進入安全模式。

"Unfortunately, it appears the failure within the propulsion system is causing a critical loss of propellant," Astrobotic said in its latest update.

Astrobotic 在最新更新中表示：“不幸的是，推進系統內的故障似乎導致了推進劑的嚴重損失。”

"The team is working to try and stabilize this loss, but given the situation, we have prioritized maximizing the science and data we can capture. We are currently assessing what alternative mission profiles may be feasible at this time."

“該團隊正在努力穩定這種損失，但考慮到這種情況，我們優先考慮最大限度地利用我們可以捕獲的科學和數據。我們目前正在評估目前可能可行的替代任務方案。”

At 0218 ET (0718 UTC) the upstart's Peregrine Lunar Lander was launched atop the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA.

東部時間 0218（世界標準時間 0718），這家新貴的遊隼月球登陸器在聯合發射聯盟的火神火箭上從美國佛羅裡達州卡納維拉爾角太空部隊站發射升空。

The mission was off to a good start. Astrobotic confirmed its spacecraft had separated from the Vulcan rocket around 500 kilometres above the Earth.

這次任務有了一個好的開始。 Astrobotic 證實其太空船已與距離地球約 500 公里的火神火箭分離。

The Peregrine Lunar Lander turned on and was connected to NASA's Deep Space Network to exchange telemetry signals.

遊隼月球登陸器啟動並連接到美國太空總署的深空網路以交換遙測訊號。

• NASA science bound for Moon after successful Vulcan Centaur launch

  成功發射火神半人馬後，美國太空總署科學將前往月球

• NASA's VIPER is half-built, with launch plans for this year

  NASA 的 VIPER 已建成一半，並計劃於今年發射

• Another day, another delay to first Vulcan Centaur launch

  又一天，首次火神半人馬發射再次延後

• America's ambitious Artemis III likely to miss 2025 Moon landing date, auditors sigh

  審計人員嘆息，美國雄心勃勃的阿耳忒彌斯 III 號可能會錯過 2025 年登月日期

Problems began, however, when the Peregrine failed to orient its solar panels toward the Sun. Mission control adjusted the craft's position, allowing Peregrine's batteries to begin charging, but, with a lack of propellant and the unspecified propulsion system flaw, the lander probably won't be able to attempt a soft touchdown on the Moon.

然而，當遊隼號未能將其太陽能板朝向太陽時，問題就開始了。任務控制中心調整了飛船的位置，讓遊隼號的電池開始充電，但是，由於缺乏推進劑和未指明的推進系統缺陷，著陸器可能無法嘗試在月球上軟著陸。

Unfortunately, that means the 20 payloads sent by space agencies, universities, and private customers around the world, attached to the Peregrine Lunar Lander, will also – shall we say – fail to be used as specified. NASA will lose a laser retroreflector array, and four different spectrometers designed to study the lunar exospheres and soil as well as monitor radiation levels. 

不幸的是，這意味著世界各地的航太機構、大學和私人客戶發送的附著在遊隼月球登陸器上的 20 個有效載荷，我們可以說，也將無法按規定使用。美國太空總署將失去一個雷射後向反射器陣列和四個不同的光譜儀，旨在研究月球外逸層和土壤以及監測輻射水平。

Meanwhile, Germany and Mexico's respective radiation detector and small robots will likely be destroyed too. Other payloads include time capsules, artwork, books, music, and cryptocurrency sent by private companies from the UK, Japan, Canada, Hungary, the Seychelles, and Argentina. 

同時，德國和墨西哥各自的輻射探測器和小型機器人也可能被摧毀。其他有效負載包括由來自英國、日本、加拿大、匈牙利、塞席爾和阿根廷的私人公司發送的時間膠囊、藝術品、書籍、音樂和加密貨幣。

The US space agency's administrator Bill Nelson had warned that Astrobotic's Peregrine Mission One was risky.

美國航太局長比爾·尼爾森警告說，Astrobotic 的遊隼一號任務存在風險。

"These high-risk missions will not only conduct new science at the Moon, but they are supporting a growing commercial space economy while showing the strength of American technology and innovation," he said after the launch.

他在發射後表示：“這些高風險任務不僅將在月球上進行新的科學研究，而且還將支持不斷增長的商業太空經濟，同時展示美國的技術和創新實力。”

"We have so much science to learn through CLPS missions that will help us better understand the evolution of our solar system and shape the future of human exploration for the Artemis Generation." 

“透過 CLPS 任務，我們有很多科學知識需要學習，這將幫助我們更好地了解太陽系的演化，並塑造阿爾忒彌斯一代人類探索的未來。”

It's not clear where the spacecraft is right now and what will happen if and when it loses all its fuel, but it doesn't look like it'll get a chance to attempt a happy landing on the Moon. The Register has asked Astrobotic for comment. ®

目前尚不清楚太空船現在在哪裡，以及如果它失去所有燃料會發生什麼，但看起來它沒有機會嘗試在月球上快樂著陸。 The Register 已要求 Astrobotic 發表評論。 ®

Updated to add at 2200 UTC

Here's the latest from Astrobotic: It's received a snap from the craft, which confirmed there was a problem with the propulsion system judging by the state of an insulation layer. See below.

更新於 2200 UTC 這是來自 Astrobotic 的最新消息：它收到了來自飛船的快照，從絕緣層的狀態來看，確認推進系統存在問題。見下文。

The team wrote:

團隊寫道：

The biz also said its operators had been awake and working for more than 24 hours by this point. So, dunno, cut them some slack?

該公司還表示，此時其操作員已經醒著並工作了超過 24 小時。那麼，不知道，讓他們放鬆一下嗎？