{"id":777330,"date":"2024-02-15T20:16:50","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T01:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=777330"},"modified":"2024-02-15T20:16:50","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T01:16:50","slug":"intuitive-machines-odysseus-lander-begins-its-moon-odyssey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=777330","title":{"rendered":"Intuitive Machines&#8217; Odysseus Lander Begins Its Moon Odyssey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Now it\u2019s\u00a0Intuitive Machines\u2019\u00a0turn to try making history with a robotic moon landing.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s launch of the Houston-based company\u2019s\u00a0Odysseus lander\u00a0marks the first step in an eight-day journey that could lead to the first-ever soft landing of a commercial spacecraft on the moon. Odysseus would also be the first U.S.-built spacecraft to touch down safely on the lunar surface since Apollo 17\u2019s mission in 1972.<\/p>\n<p>The lander \u2014 which is as big as an old-fashioned British phone booth, or the Tardis time portal from the \u201cDoctor Who\u201d TV series \u2014 was sent spaceward from Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 1:05 a.m. ET (0605 UTC).<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-165738\"\/><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Odysseus Nova-C IM-1 launch and Falcon 9 first stage landing\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ONlQHEBwgCQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Liftoff was originally scheduled for the previous night, but was postponed due to\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpaceX\/status\/1757623502289686797\">concerns that arose while getting ready to load methane fuel onto the lander<\/a>. The concerns were resolved, and tonight\u2019s countdown proceeded smoothly.<\/p>\n<p>After launching Intuitive Machines\u2019 IM-1 mission, the Falcon 9\u2019s first-stage booster flew itself back for a touchdown on SpaceX\u2019s Landing Zone 1, not far from its Florida launch pad. Meanwhile, Odysseus separated from the rocket\u2019s second stage and pressed onward to the next phase of its lunar odyssey.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, a different company called\u00a0Astrobotic\u00a0had been in line to achieve the first commercial moon landing, but its Peregrine lander suffered a propellant leak after liftoff \u2014 a setback that forced the company to cancel the moon mission and instead\u00a0send the robot to its fiery doom\u00a0during atmospheric re-entry over the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLanding on the moon is extremely challenging,\u201d Joel Kearns, NASA\u2019s deputy associate administrator for exploration, told reporters in advance of Odysseus\u2019s launch. \u201cYou\u2019ve probably seen that, over the past year, success of every landing was never assured.\u201d (Those landing attempts included failures by\u00a0Russia\u00a0and a\u00a0Japanese private venture, as well as successes by the\u00a0Indian\u00a0and\u00a0Japanese\u00a0space agencies.)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Odysseus Nova-C IM-1 deployment\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0eie1DcmaT0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said he\u2019s confident his company\u2019s attempt will be successful. \u201cWe learned from others \u2026 but in addition, we bring things together quickly. We bring hardware and software together in the early stages of development and testing, and we test often,\u201d he said during NASA\u2019s webcast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTest, test, test like we fly \u2014 that\u2019s the key to success,\u201d Altemus said.<\/p>\n<p>If all goes according to plan, Odysseus will power its way to a Feb. 22 landing in Malapert A, a crater near the moon\u2019s south pole. The south polar region is a key target for exploration because many of its craters are thought to hold reservoirs of water ice \u2014 a potential resource for future moon bases.<\/p>\n<p>Like Astrobotic\u2019s Peregrine lander mission, the IM-1 mission is principally supported by funding from NASA\u2019s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, also known as CLPS. The program is meant to leverage private enterprise \u2014 and reduce NASA\u2019s costs in the long run. Kearns said NASA has agreed to pay as much as $118 million to have Odysseus deliver its science payloads to the lunar surface.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Intuitive Machines IM-1 Mission Animation\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Rb_ZjcBdAaw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Those payloads include cameras that will document the plumes of dust kicked up by the landing, an experimental radio navigation beacon, a radio-based fuel gauge, a laser range finder, a set of laser reflectors and a sensor that will study the moon\u2019s electron plasma environment. Data from the experiments will help NASA plan for the Artemis program\u2019s crewed lunar landings, which could start happening\u00a0as soon as 2026.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Odysseus is carrying an array of commercial payloads. One payload is a\u00a0camera system\u00a0that will be dropped off during the lander\u2019s descent to take \u201cselfie\u201d pictures of the touchdown. Another payload is a\u00a0mini-observatory\u00a0that could capture pictures of the lunar surface and the first image of the Milky Way galaxy\u2019s center as seen from the moon.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also a miniaturized information archive from\u00a0Galactic Legacy Labs, a digital data storage device from\u00a0Lonestar Data Holdings, a box of 125 marble-sized moon sculptures created by\u00a0Jeff Koons, and a test swatch of thermal reflective material from\u00a0Columbia Sportswear.<\/p>\n<p>Odysseus\u2019s science mission is scheduled to last about a week. The end will come when the sun drops beneath the moon\u2019s horizon, cutting off the solar-powered lander\u2019s ability to charge up its batteries. But that won\u2019t be the end for commercial moon missions: Intuitive Machines is already working on another lander that will\u00a0drill for ice\u00a0in the moon\u2019s south polar region. Meanwhile, Astrobotic is getting set to send NASA\u2019s\u00a0VIPER rover\u00a0to a spot near the south pole, and Firefly Aerospace is due to deliver 10 NASA payloads to Mare Crisium aboard its\u00a0Blue Ghost lander.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-block sd-like jetpack-likes-widget-wrapper jetpack-likes-widget-unloaded\" id=\"like-post-wrapper-24000880-165738-65ceb41ba1d15\" data-src=\"https:\/\/widgets.wp.com\/likes\/#blog_id=24000880&amp;post_id=165738&amp;origin=www.universetoday.com&amp;obj_id=24000880-165738-65ceb41ba1d15\" data-name=\"like-post-frame-24000880-165738-65ceb41ba1d15\" data-title=\"Like or Reblog\">\n<h3 class=\"sd-title\">Like this:<\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"button\"><span>Like<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"loading\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"sd-text-color\"\/><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"sd-link-color\"\/><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/165738\/intuitive-machines-odysseus-moon-lander\/?rand=772204\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now it\u2019s\u00a0Intuitive Machines\u2019\u00a0turn to try making history with a robotic moon landing. Today\u2019s launch of the Houston-based company\u2019s\u00a0Odysseus lander\u00a0marks the first step in an eight-day journey that could lead to&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":777331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-777330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genaero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=777330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/777331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=777330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=777330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=777330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}