Intuitive Machines Odysseus Lander Touches Down on the Moon
First U.S. Lunar Landing in More than 50 years
NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) scored a win on Thursday evening when the Intuitive Machines Odysseus lander touched down in the south polar region of the Moon at about 6:45 pm ET. It is the first successful U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years.
The landing was not without its exciting moments. Communication with the lander was lost after it touched down on the lunar surface. But mission controllers used a U.K.-based antenna to reestablish a connection with the spacecraft. "After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data. Right now, we are working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface," Intuitive Machines posted on X.
Shortly before the planned landing, the landers navigation system failed, and engineers worked to upload a software patch to get the mission back on track.
The IM-1 mission is carrying a package of six NASA instruments that will conduct scientific research and demonstrate technologies to help us better understand the Moon’s environment and improve landing precision and safety in the challenging conditions of the lunar south polar region, paving the way for future Artemis astronaut missions. The payloads will collect data on how the plume of engine gasses interacts with the Moon’s surface and kicks up lunar dust, investigate radio astronomy and space weather interactions with the lunar surface, test precision landing technologies, and measure the quantity of liquid propellant in Nova-C propellant tanks in the zero gravity of space. The Nova-C lander also carries a retroreflector array that will contribute to a network of location markers on the Moon that will be used as a position marker for decades to come.