First US Moon Landing Mission in Decades Successfully Launched

Peregrine Moon Lander Carries NASA Instruments and Human Remains, Marking New Era in Lunar Exploration

• United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket successfully launched the Peregrine moon lander, marking the first US moon landing mission in decades.
• The Peregrine moon lander, developed by Astrobotic Technology, carries 20 payloads, including five NASA science instruments and human remains from space memorial company Celestis.
• If Peregrine successfully lands on the moon next month, it will be the first American spacecraft to reach the moon's surface since Apollo 17 in 1972 and potentially the first private mission ever to touch down on the moon.
• The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, marking a new approach to lunar exploration by contracting private companies for transportation services.
• The launch also marked the first flight of ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket, which is expected to replace the company's older Atlas and Delta rockets.

38 Articles

The Telegraph The Guardian New York Post Space.com South China Morning Post Digital Trends Deutsche Welle UPI Washington Post Boston Globe Interesting Engineering Forbes Washington Post CNN Quartz The Guardian The Japan Times GeekWire ScienceAlert Digital Trends Boston Globe CBS News NDTV AOL CNN Sky News Gizmodo SciTechDaily Engadget NBC News Washington Post Space.com SciTechDaily The Daily Caller UPI New York Post Fox News Futurism