The United States has launched a rocket with a module that will soon land on the Moon

On Monday, January 8, a Vulcan Centaur rocket carrying the Peregrine lunar lander was launched from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in the US state of Florida.

Source. This was reported by the Voice of America.

Peregrine was developed by Astrobotic Technology. If successfully landed on the lunar surface, it will become the first lunar lander in history to be created by a private company.

According to the plan, the vehicle is scheduled to land on the Moon on February 23. The module, which is about two meters high and two and a half meters wide, will deliver cargo to the Moon, including scientific instruments for NASA, a stone from Mount Everest, and the dust of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.

In addition to scientific cargo, Peregrine carries many items of symbolic and cultural value into lunar orbit. Among them are DNA from a goat and an Arctic tern, blood samples from 33 artists, hundreds of images, poems and music, maps, river and ocean water.

A round plate symbolizing one bitcoin was also sent to the moon.

The agreement on the Peregrine Mission One between Astrobotic and United Launch Alliance, the developer of the Vulcan Centaur rocket, was reached back in 2017.

After that, the launch date was changed several times. At the end of December 2023, Astrobotic's management announced that the module was "ready for launch and landing."

After landing on February 23, the module is scheduled to work on the Moon for at least 192 hours.

NASA has allocated money to two private companies to build lunar modules to explore the area of the Moon to which a manned mission is planned to be sent later. Astrobotic Technology received $108 million for the construction of Peregrine.

Background. Read more about the 7 biggest space achievements of the past year in Mind's article "Space 2023 in numbers: a record number of flights, astronauts in orbit, and new "space countries".