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Intuitive Machines\u2018 Odysseus lander made space history today \u2014 becoming the first commercial spacecraft to survive a descent to the moon, and the first U.S.-built spacecraft to do so since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. But it wasn\u2019t a trouble-free landing.<\/p>\n
Ground controllers had a hard time establishing contact with the robotic lander just after the scheduled touchdown time of 6:23 p.m. ET (2323 UTC). Several minutes passed, and then Intuitive Machines mission director Tim Crain reported that there was a faint signal coming from Odysseus\u2019 high-gain antenna.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not dead yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n A few minutes later, the IM-1 mission team decided that the signal was evidence enough that Odysseus was still operating.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we can confirm without a doubt is our equipment is on the surface of the moon, and we are transmitting,\u201d Crain said. \u201cSo, congratulations, IM team, we\u2019ll see how much more we can get from that.\u201d<\/p>\n As mission team members applauded, Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus radioed in with his congratulations. \u201cI know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface and we are transmitting,\u201d he said. \u201cWelcome to the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHouston, Odysseus has found its new home,\u201d Crain replied.<\/p>\n Odysseus, which is named after a seafaring hero in Greek mythology, was launched from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 15. The mission\u2019s objective was to deliver payloads from NASA and commercial customers to a spot near Malapert A crater in the lunar south polar region. That area of the moon is of high interest because its cratered terrain is thought to hold resources of water ice that could be eventually be used to supply crewed outposts. <\/p>\n NASA is paying Houston-based Intuitive Machines $118 million for the delivery under the terms of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.<\/p>\n The space agency\u2019s payloads include a camera system that was designed to 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 could help NASA plan for the Artemis program\u2019s crewed lunar landings, which could start happening\u00a0as soon as 2026.<\/p>\n The commercial payloads range from a box of 125 marble-sized moon sculptures and a digital data storage device to a mini-observatory that could capture pictures of the lunar surface and the Milky Way above. There\u2019s also a camera system that was designed to be dropped off during the descent to take \u201cselfie\u201d pictures of the touchdown.<\/p>\n Odysseus reached lunar orbit on Feb. 21, and went through a series of maneuvers today to descend from an altitude of 92 kilometers (57 miles).<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s laser range finder, known as the Navigation Doppler Lidar or NDL, ended up playing a crucial backup role in guiding the descent. Just a couple of hours before landing, Intuitive Machines reported that controllers couldn\u2019t get Odysseus\u2019 own laser range finders to work \u2014 so they reprogrammed the lander to use NASA\u2019s NDL system instead.<\/p>\n In the wake of the landing, Intuitive Machines\u2019 mission control team went through a series of procedures aimed at resetting equipment and boosting the signal from Odysseus.<\/p>\nWhat Odysseus was designed to do<\/h2>\n
Backup systems come into play<\/h2>\n