Astrobotic will shoot for the moon again this year

After Peregrine Mission One burned up in the atmosphere and broke apart over a remote part of the Pacific Ocean a year ago, Astrobotic has been prepping for a second attempted launch to the moon in 2025 — Griffin Mission One lunar lander.

Peregrine was supposed to solidify the Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic as the first commercial company to successfully land on the moon. However, a fuel leak rendered that landing impossible.

Despite the issues, Astrobotic CEO John Thornton said Peregrine was able to operate in space for more than 10 days before burning.

“Like many pioneering ventures in space, the path to success in this new commercial lunar paradigm involves learning, improving and flying again,” he said in the company’s 2024 year-in-review.

Griffin Mission One will go through testing during the first quarter of 2025 — with intended launch to the moon in late 2025.

Last fall, the Deep Space Network managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully completed test communications with the Griffin lander. The company said the development is an important step in demonstrating Griffin’s compatibility with space-to-ground communications when it’s launched to the moon.

Astrobotic also advanced LunaGrid, its vision for sustainable lunar power infrastructure. The company said in its 2024 year-in-review that its lunar wireless charging systems achieved over 82% efficiency in simulated lunar environments.

“2024 was a year full of highs and lows, but I can say with complete certainty, there is no team I would rather travel to the moon with than this one,” Thornton said.