The Odysseus lander, developed by Intuitive Machines, successfully landed on the moon on Thursday in a thrilling and historic descent. This achievement marks the first time in over five decades that a U.S.-built spacecraft has made a controlled landing on the lunar surface. Notably, it also represents the maiden moon landing by a private company.
The landing was not without its challenges, as a navigation sensor glitch occurred at the last moment, adding tension to the already nerve-wracking descent. However, the team managed to navigate through this hurdle, demonstrating remarkable ingenuity and adaptability.
To address the navigation sensor malfunction, the final descent was postponed by one orbit. During this extra time, an experimental NASA navigation sensor was deployed and hastily developed software patches were applied to reroute data to the lander’s flight computer.
Despite the intense pressure and tight timeline, these efforts paid off. Odysseus safely touched down at 6:23 p.m. EST, choosing a landing site near the Malapert A crater, approximately 186 miles away from the moon’s south pole. This successful landing marks a significant milestone in space exploration, showcasing the capabilities of private companies in advancing lunar missions.
As celebrations ensued over what NASA described as “a significant advancement,” there was no prompt verification regarding the status or state of the lander, except for its successful arrival at the designated landing area in crater Malapert A. However, Intuitive Machines, the Texas-headquartered company responsible for constructing the initial commercial spacecraft to achieve a lunar landing, subsequently announced that the craft was “upright and initiating data transmission.”
The statement on X said mission managers were “working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface”.
The so-called “soft landing” on Thursday, which Steve Altemus, the company’s founder, had given only an 80% chance of succeeding, was designed to open a new era of lunar exploration as Nasa works towards a scheduled late-2026 mission to send humans back there.
“Welcome to the moon,” Altemus said when touchdown when the 5.23pm touchdown was eventually confirmed, after about 10 minutes in which Odysseus was out of contact.
Your order was delivered… to the Moon! 📦@Int_Machines‘ uncrewed lunar lander landed at 6:23pm ET (2323 UTC), bringing NASA science to the Moon’s surface. These instruments will prepare us for future human exploration of the Moon under #Artemis. pic.twitter.com/sS0poiWxrU
— NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2024
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