Science News Roundup: India ISRO's Aditya-L1 solar mission reaches destination; Astrobotic's lunar lander suffers glitch in space, moon mission fate unclear and more

2, the spacecraft positioned itself at Lagrange Point 1, from where it will undertake a comprehensive study of the sun, focusing on the solar corona and its influence on space weather. Moon lander problem threatens mission after Vulcan rocket makes successful debut A robotic lander built by a private company suffered a propulsion system issue on its way to the moon on Monday, upending the first U.S. soft lunar landing attempt in over 50 years as mission managers scrambled to fix its position in space.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Astrobotic's lunar lander suffers glitch in space, moon mission fate unclear

A privately built moon lander launched Monday morning to make the first U.S. soft lunar landing in more than 50 years failed to enter its correct orientation in space, suffering what its owners termed an "anomaly" that calls the mission's fate into question. "Unfortunately, an anomaly occurred, which prevented Astrobotic from achieving a stable sun-pointing orientation," Astrobotic said in a statement.

India ISRO's Aditya-L1 solar mission reaches destination

The Indian Space Research Organisation's inaugural solar mission, Aditya-L1, has reached its destination within the anticipated four-month timeframe, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday. Launched on Sept. 2, the spacecraft positioned itself at Lagrange Point 1, from where it will undertake a comprehensive study of the sun, focusing on the solar corona and its influence on space weather.

Moon lander problem threatens mission after Vulcan rocket makes successful debut

A robotic lander built by a private company suffered a propulsion system issue on its way to the moon on Monday, upending the first U.S. soft lunar landing attempt in over 50 years as mission managers scrambled to fix its position in space. Space robotics firm Astrobotic Technology's Peregrine lunar lander had launched successfully to space at 2:18 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard the first flight of Vulcan, a rocket that had been under development for a decade by the Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA).