Moonshot Museum counts down for Astrobotic moon lander launch

More than a week after the New Year, a digital countdown clock sits ticking down the seconds in the lobby of the Moonshot Museum on the North Side of Pittsburgh.

This clock isn’t counting down to 2024. It’s marking the minutes until the scheduled launch of Peregrine, a lunar lander created by Pittsburgh space startup Astrobotic, set to blast off aboard United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket in the wee hours of Monday morning.

The launch had been initially slated for Christmas Eve, but was delayed due to routine issues with the ground system and moved to shortly after 2 a.m. on Jan. 8. Peregrine will be delivering payloads from NASA and other commercial entities on its trip to the lunar surface.

Astrobotic was awarded $79.5 million from NASA to complete the mission — the company’s first. If successful, it will become the first commercial company to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface.

Sunday afternoon at the Moonshot Museum, a STEAM-focused nonprofit that partners with and shares a building with Astrobotic, the anticipation was building, with less than a day to go until launch.

“We’re really, really excited for the launch. Our team is getting together later, and we’re going to stay up late to watch it together this evening,” said Lauren Shalek, manager of operations and visitor services at the museum. “As far as we’ve been hearing, all systems are go.”

The Moonshot Museum, which has been open for a little over a year, shows exhibits that dive into space industry science. A highlight is a large panel window into the Astrobotic lab, where museumgoers can watch Astrobotic scientists work. Though Peregrine is already in Cape Canaveral, the startup’s next project, Griffin, is already underway and in progress in the clean room.

“The museum is very focused on the future,” said Shalek. “We are specifically trying to engage young people, and help them understand that anything you’re interested in, there’s a way to make a connection to the space industry.”

More visitors have stopped in to see the museum in recent months because of the planned launch, she said.

“We had a lot of interest in the week between Christmas and New Year’s in particular because the launch was scheduled to happen right before Christmas. It did get pushed back, but we still saw a big bump in visitors,” she said.

“This week, right after the holidays, things have slowed down a tiny bit, but I know yesterday we had some folks come in just to visit the gift shop so they would have their gear to wear, because they’re going to stay up late to watch the launch.”

Pat Viglianco, a visitor from Clarksburg, W.Va., stopped in with his family to check out the site alongside other Pittsburgh museums. He had heard about the launch, but didn’t realize it was so soon.

“It was pretty neat,” he said, noting he particularly enjoyed being able to see into the Astrobotic lab.

James Jamison, one of the museum’s front desk staff, said excitement has been building as the launch has been pushed back. Originally, before being scheduled for this winter, it was slated for May 2023.

“It’s more real (now),” he said. “You can see it.”