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The IM-1 Intuitive Machines lander, known as Odysseus or “Odie,” is on the lunar surface after experiencing unexpected problems hours before landing.
“I know this was a nail biter, but we’re on the surface, and we’re transmitting,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus announced on a live webcast. “Welcome to the moon.”
The company was able to confirm that Odysseus made contact with the lunar surface and mission control received a signal from the spacecraft shortly after landing. But his condition was not known until more than two hours later.
“After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed that Odysseus is upright and beginning to send data. Currently, we are working to download the first images from the surface of the moon,” according to a update from the company on Xformerly known as Twitter.
The first commercial spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon is a historic landing, and the first US vehicle to touch the lunar surface since the Apollo program ended more than five decades ago. The mission is of interest to Intuitive Machines’ main customer, NASA, which wants to scout the moon using robotic probes developed by private contractors before sending astronauts there later in the decade through its Artemis program.
“Today for the first time in more than half a century, the United States has returned to the moon,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Today is a day that demonstrates the power and promise of NASA’s commercial partnerships. Congratulations to everyone involved in this amazing and daring quest.”
Odysseus touched down at 6:24 pm ET Thursday after using its on-board methane-fueled engine to steer itself toward the earth’s surface and rapidly reduce its speed to 4,000 miles per hour (1,800 meters per the second).
A few hours before landing, an apparent problem with Odysseus’ navigation systems forced the lander to rely on experimental technology, resulting in a “dynamic situation,” according to Gary Jordan, NASA’s communications manager.
“Intuitive Machines made the decision to reassign the primary navigation sensors from Odysseus … to use the sensors on NASA’s Doppler Lidar Navigation,” according to the webcast.
The Lidar payload is an experimental technology that was intended to test how future landers would make more precise landings on the moon. According to Farzin Amzajerdian, NASA’s principal investigator for the instrument, it is designed to shoot laser beams at the ground to accurately measure the speed and direction of flight.
With its landing legs and sensors focused on the lunar terrain, Odysseus relied on the Lidar payload to find a safe landing spot.
The IM-1 mission comes amid a renewed international dash for the lunar surface. Since the end of the 20th century Soviet-US space race, China, India and Japan have all landed spacecraft on the moon – with the latter two making their first touches in the past six months.
The phone-booth-sized lander spent the last week in space, traveling about 620,370 miles (1 million kilometers) through the void before launching itself into lunar orbit on Wednesday morning. A model of the spacecraft can be seen below.
What is Odysseus taking to the moon
Intuitive Machines aims to land Odyssey near Malapert A, an impact crater near the moon’s south pole – an area characterized by treacherous and rocky terrain.
Malapert A is a relatively flat region compared to its surroundings, according to NASA. And the location is strategic: The south pole is of wide international interest because it is suspected of containing stores of water ice, which could be converted into drinking water or even rocket fuel for future missions.
On board Odysseus are six science payloads designed in various NASA laboratories that are expected to operate for up to seven days on the lunar surface.
“NASA’s payloads will focus on demonstrating communications, navigation and precision landing technologies, and collecting scientific data on rocket propulsion and lunar surface interactions, as well as space weather and lunar surface interactions affecting radio astronomy,” according to the agency. space.
Payloads from the commercial sector are also on board. They include insulating material developed by Columbia Sportswear, designed to protect Odysseus from the harsh temperatures on the moon, and commemorative loads such as a sculpture of the phases of the moon designed in consultation with artist Jeff Koons.
In addition, students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida have developed a camera along the journey. The device was set to pull out the lander and capture Odysseus’ selfie. Those images are expected about three hours after touchdown, although other photos could be shared sooner.
After one week, a moonlit night will envelop the landing zone in darkness, plunging the spacecraft into freezing cold. The dramatic swing in the temperatures will be difficult – making the vehicle inoperable.
The odds of success
This mission comes after another NASA commercial partner, Astrobotic Technology, attempted to land on the moon hours in its mission last month. A critical fuel leak left the Falcon stranded without enough gas to reach the surface.
“We’re going 1,000 times further (into space) than the International Space Station,” Altemus said. “Then we fly to an orbiting body that has no atmosphere to slow (the spacecraft). … This has to be done with a drive system. And we’re doing it autonomously or robotically without any human intervention.”
The US is keen to regain a presence on the moon as NASA aims to carry out robotic science missions, seeks to learn more about the lunar environment through private partners as it focuses on preparing to land astronauts on the moon The space agency is targeting 2026 for the first crewed mission back to the surface.
The Artemis program has already been delayed. Altemus said he envisions companies such as Intuitive Machines — which operates under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS initiative — could bolster the United States’ lunar efforts if astronaut missions face further obstacles, particularly competition from China.
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