Odysseus is a six-legged robot
An American company will attempt on Friday to send the United States’ first spacecraft to the moon in more than 50 years. The six-legged robot Odysseus used its main rocket thruster to perform a nearly seven-minute orbital insertion maneuver into lunar orbit on Wednesday, placing it in a circular orbit about 92 kilometers above the lunar surface.
The spacecraft is scheduled to begin its final descent about an hour before its planned landing, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday (4:00 a.m. IST Friday) at Malapert, near the moon’s south pole. A crater landing.
Equipped with scientific instruments and technology demonstrations for NASA and commercial customers, Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus is designed to operate for seven days, providing valuable insights at the landing site before sunset.
Odysseus’ Terrain Relative Navigation Camera captured this image of the Berkovich K crater in the Moon’s northern equatorial highlands.
This is a volcanic crater about 50 kilometers in diameter with a mountain range in the center, which was formed when the crater was formed.
(February 21, 2024 1750 CST) pic.twitter.com/0egu0NORKP— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 21, 2024
The spacecraft is reported to be in “good health” and mission controllers in Houston are monitoring flight data and transmitting images of the moon from its lunar orbit, which is about 239,000 miles (384,000 kilometers) from Earth.
Odysseus is a 13-foot-tall NOVA C-class lander that launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on February 15 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Odysseus completed its scheduled 408-second host lunar orbit insertion burn and is currently in a 92-kilometer circular lunar orbit. Initial data indicate that 800 m/s combustion is completed within an accuracy of 2 m/s. 🧵1/4 (21FEB2024 0920 CST) pic.twitter.com/ZoFStQD3cX
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 21, 2024
If the landing is successful, the IM-1 mission will mark the first controlled descent of a U.S. spacecraft to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972, and the first for a commercially built and operated vehicle under NASA’s Artemis lunar program. Soft landing.”
The mission follows the recent failure of Astrobotic Technology’s lunar lander, highlighting the challenges private companies face in lunar exploration.
The Intuitive Machine mission, although considered its own mission, carries six NASA payloads designed to collect data for the Artemis program, NASA’s mission to bring astronauts to the U.S. later this decade. Plan to send back to the moon.
To provide real-time coverage of this historic event, NASA plans to broadcast landing updates live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app and the agency’s official website.
Odysseus, @Int_Machines” The unmanned lunar lander aims to land at the lunar south pole on February 22 at 5:30 PM ET (2230 UTC). Join us to watch the lunar lander live as this lunar landing brings Study the area’s scientific instruments. https://t.co/7U0WfJG56bpic.twitter.com/9JXBdD4y6K
— NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2024
Following the successful landing, Intuitive Machines and NASA will host a joint press conference to delve into the details of the mission and explore the scientific opportunities the company faces as it conducts operations on the lunar surface.
Intuitive Machines was co-founded by Stephen Altemus, former deputy director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and focuses on key areas such as space weather interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technology and navigation. NASA’s delayed manned Artemis moon landing program and China’s goal of a 2030 lunar mission underscore the competitive nature of the space race.
Odysseus’ successful landing will mark a critical moment in space exploration, expanding the list of countries that have successfully landed on the moon, as smaller landers pave the way. The United States, the former Soviet Union, China, India and, most recently, Japan currently make up this unique group.
