Peregrine 1 has ‘no chance’ of landing on moon due to fuel leak

Astrobotic company says goal is now to get US spacecraft as far as possible before it loses power

The first moon lander to launch from the US in half a century has no chance" of making a successful landing on the lunar surface because of 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 aimed to become the first commercial space probe to make a soft landing on the moon, suffered a critical loss of propellant" hours after liftoff on Monday owing to an anomaly" in the propulsion system, according to Astrobotic, the US company behind the project.