MOSCOW , Jan 9Private space companies allow NASA to seriously save on developing new technologies; it will not revise its strategy because of the failure of Astrobotic’s Peregrine mission alone, said Ivan Moiseev, an expert in the field of astronautics and head of the Russian Space Policy Institute.
The day before, Astrobotic reported problems with the main propulsion system of the Peregrine lunar lander. The company hopes that, with the help of auxiliary engines, the device will be able to maintain another 40 hours in a stable position with an orientation towards the Sun and deliver it as close to the Moon as possible.
The New York Times said the failure would raise questions about NASA's strategy of relying on private development and small startups to carry science missions to the Moon before astronauts return fully. to the Earth's satellite as part of the Artemis program.
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“It is unlikely that they will reconsider the strategy, because statistics show that private owners have a very high accident rate at the beginning of their activities. Take the same Musk, he started with a very large series of accidents. And what has it come to! NASA understands this very well,” Moiseev said.
He clarified that several launches of stations to the Moon by private US space companies are planned in 2024. At the same time, the expert explained that all enterprises in the States are private, but this is the customary name for those companies that have appeared relatively recently, which do not fulfill government orders, but “invest their money at their own peril and risk.”
According to Moiseev, such private investments in American space exploration are approximately four times higher than government investments.
“NASA receives so much from them that they will not change their strategy because of one accident,” he emphasized.
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