For the first time since 1972, a spacecraft has landed on the Moon as Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus robot touched down near the lunar south pole.
The event is also significant as it is the first time a landing has been made by a commercial organisation, rather than a state-backed space agency.
Odysseus’ flight director, Tim Crain, confirmed that the craft had landed successfully and was transmitting signals back to Earth. There had been an anxious wait for the team on Earth to confirm the craft had landed, but after a few minutes signals were received. It has since been confirmed that the craft is upright and is now sending back pictures.
The mission hasn’t been without its hitches. Before Odysseus began its descent, there was a technical problem that saw its ranging lasers – which calculated its altitude and velocity were not working. Fortunately, there were some Nasa lasers on board, which could be patched across to the navigation computers.
The last US mission to the surface of the Moon was the final one in the Apollo series of missions.
While this mission has been run by a commercial company, US space agency Nasa has been involved in it, purchasing space on Odysseus for scientific instruments. Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson has hailed the mission as a “triumph” that showed the promise of Nasa’s commercial partnerships.
Now the craft has landed, the plan is for Intuitive Machines’ moon lander, Nova-C – a hexagonal cylinder with six legs – to be deployed, which is carrying scientific instruments for Nasa. One set will measure how the craft landing on the Moon affects the surface and how much dust it sends up. Another set will bounce back laser beams fired from Earth. The mission is planned to last about a week.
