Spacecraft Odysseus Has Landed On The Moon
A U.S.-built spacecraft lands on the moon for the first time in half a century.
For the first time in more than 50 years, an American spacecraft has landed on the moon.
The lander, named Odysseus, was built by Intuitive Machines of Houston. Minutes after beginning its landing sequence at 6:11 p.m. Eastern time the spacecraft touched the ground, making it the first privately built spacecraft to land in one piece on the lunar surface.
While the spacecraft is on the moon and transmitting signals to Earth, Tim Crain, the mission director and Intuitive Machines’ chief technology officer, said it was uncertain if the spacecraft would be able to achieve its objectives.
The landing site was a flat area near the Malapert A crater, about 185 miles north of the moon’s south pole. The moon’s polar regions have attracted much interest in recent years because of water ice hidden in the shadows of craters there.
Odysseus left Earth early on Feb. 15 aboard a SpaceX rocket. It pulled into lunar orbit on Wednesday. About 12 minutes before landing on Thursday, it fired its engine to begin its descent to the surface.
From this point onward in the landing sequence, Odysseus was operating completely on its own, with flight controllers at Intuitive Machines’ control center powerless to change what happened.
To accomplish the landing, Intuitive Machines had to overcome late technical issues with the flight. During the coverage of the landing, a company spokesman said a laser instrument on the spacecraft that was to provide data on its altitude and velocity was not working.
That problem explained why the spacecraft took an extra orbit around the moon, which provided two hours for changes in the spacecraft’s software that allowed the use of an experimental NASA lidar instrument on the spacecraft instead.
Spacecraft Odysseus Has Landed On The Moon
A U.S.-built spacecraft lands on the moon for the first time in half a century.
For the first time in more than 50 years, an American spacecraft has landed on the moon.
The lander, named Odysseus, was built by Intuitive Machines of Houston. Minutes after beginning its landing sequence at 6:11 p.m. Eastern time the spacecraft touched the ground, making it the first privately built spacecraft to land in one piece on the lunar surface.
While the spacecraft is on the moon and transmitting signals to Earth, Tim Crain, the mission director and Intuitive Machines’ chief technology officer, said it was uncertain if the spacecraft would be able to achieve its objectives.
The landing site was a flat area near the Malapert A crater, about 185 miles north of the moon’s south pole. The moon’s polar regions have attracted much interest in recent years because of water ice hidden in the shadows of craters there.
Odysseus left Earth early on Feb. 15 aboard a SpaceX rocket. It pulled into lunar orbit on Wednesday. About 12 minutes before landing on Thursday, it fired its engine to begin its descent to the surface.
From this point onward in the landing sequence, Odysseus was operating completely on its own, with flight controllers at Intuitive Machines’ control center powerless to change what happened.
To accomplish the landing, Intuitive Machines had to overcome late technical issues with the flight. During the coverage of the landing, a company spokesman said a laser instrument on the spacecraft that was to provide data on its altitude and velocity was not working.
That problem explained why the spacecraft took an extra orbit around the moon, which provided two hours for changes in the spacecraft’s software that allowed the use of an experimental NASA lidar instrument on the spacecraft instead.