Since receiving power and telemetry, the Iris Rover payload (pictured) has sent a message from space (pictured).
NASA has also released a preliminary science assessment on blogs.nasa.gov: “Two of the payloads, NSS and LETS, are making measurements of the radiation environment in interplanetary space around the Earth and the Moon. The two instruments are measuring different components of the radiation spectrum, which provide complementary insights into the galactic cosmic ray activity and space weather resulting from solar activity. This data helps characterize the interplanetary radiation environment for humans and electronics.”
We currently estimate that the spacecraft has about 48 hours of propellant remaining, which is a significant improvement from yesterday. Our estimates for propellant life expectancy have been changing because the rate of the leak has slowed more than anticipated. A slowing leak rate is expected as the pressure drops, but there may be some change in the size of the propulsion system’s rupture as the pressure decreases or some other factor making it difficult to predict.
Peregrine has been operating in space for 3 and a half days. It is now 225,000 miles from Earth, which is 94% of lunar distance.