On Friday , Intuitive Machinesmade history , becoming the first individual company to make a mild landing place on the Moon .
The Odysseus lander , also fuck as IM-1 , safely down in the South Pole realm of the Moon . As well as touch down nearer the lunar celestial pole than any premature lander , the charge marks the first fourth dimension the US has been to the Moon inover 50 years .
Despite a number oflandersmaking it to the surface in recent years , sending spacecraft to the Moon is still no easy task . Just ask US space companyAstrobotic . Odysseus encountered its own problems too during the blood line stage , failing to immortalise its historic landing , before brieflylosing communicationswith the Intuitive Machines team below . After a few minutes , touch was re - established , and the team was able to support a successful touchdown . It ’s skillful and bad news , with the lander believed to be lie on its side against a rock .
An image taken by the Odysseus lander on descent.Image credit: Intuitive Machines/NASA
Fortunately , the lander should still be able to pitch the bulk of its payloads , with the only freight potentially trapped ( given that that side of the craftiness is press to the ground ) being anart project . Overall , the landing has been a huge success .
" We did have a stable , verify landing , and a safe , soft touchdown , " Tim Crain , chief engineering policeman and co - beginner , Intuitive Machines announced in in aNASA press conferenceon Friday .
Theteam reportsthat the lander is alert and well , successfully charge using its solar chargers , and communicate with Earth . Even more excitingly , NASA instruments on board the craft operated successfully . This include instruments used to supervise propellant on the way to the Moon , landing technology , and cat’s-paw that collected data point on plume - open fundamental interaction during the decline .
“ For the first time in more than half a century , America returned to the Moon . felicitation to Intuitive Machines for placing the lunar lander Odysseus carry NASA scientific instrument to a office no person or machine has go before , the lunar South Pole , ” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson tell in astatement . “ This effort from Intuitive Machines , SpaceX , and NASA demonstrates the hope of American leadership in quad and the power of commercial partnerships under NASA ’s CLPS initiative . Further , this success open up the doorway for young voyages under Artemis to send astronauts to the Moon , then onward to Mars . ”
The squad is now working fast , given the forgetful surgical procedure time they have in front of them , set by the approachinglunar nighttime .
" Once the Sun sets on ' Oddie ' , the barrage will attempt to keep the fomite lovesome and alive but finally it ’ll fall into a deep coldness and then the electronics that we farm just wo n’t survive the mystifying cold of lunar night , " Cain sum at the insistence group discussion , per the BBC . " And so , best case scenario , we ’re look at another nine to 10 Day [ mission time ] . "
extra challenge expect the squad , including that some of the lander ’s feeler arepointed downwards , when ideally they would be pointing at Earth . Nevertheless , the mission marks a milepost , being the first secret lander to land on the Moon , and the first time NASA has operated scientific instruments on the Moon in over 50 years .
