{"id":777781,"date":"2024-02-24T03:28:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-24T08:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=777781"},"modified":"2024-02-24T03:28:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T08:28:55","slug":"private-us-spacecraft-is-on-its-side-on-the-moon-with-some-antennas-covered-up-the-company-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=777781","title":{"rendered":"Private US spacecraft is on its side on the moon with some antennas covered up, the company says"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n On Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 the Intuitive Machines\u2019 Odysseus lunar lander captures a wide field of view image of Schomberger crater on the Moon approximately 125 miles (200 km) uprange from the intended landing site, at approximately about 6 miles (10 km) altitude. Credit: Intuitive Machines via AP
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A private U.S. lunar lander tipped over at touchdown and ended up on its side near the moon’s south pole, hampering communications, company officials said Friday.<\/p>\n

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Intuitive Machines initially believed its six-footed lander, Odysseus, was upright after Thursday’s touchdown. But CEO Steve Altemus said Friday the craft “caught a foot in the surface,” falling onto its side and, quite possibly, leaning against a rock. He said it was coming in too fast and may have snapped a leg.<\/p>\n

“So far, we have quite a bit of operational capability even though we’re tipped over,” he told reporters.<\/p>\n

But some antennas were pointed toward the surface, limiting flight controllers’ ability to get data down, Altemus said. The antennas were stationed high on the 14-foot (4.3-meter) lander to facilitate communications at the hilly, cratered and shadowed south polar region.<\/p>\n

Odysseus\u2014the first U.S. lander in more than 50 years\u2014is thought to be within a few miles (kilometers) of its intended landing site near the Malapert A crater, less than 200 miles (300 kilometers) from the south pole. NASA, the main customer, wanted to get as close as possible to the pole to scout out the area before astronauts show up later this decade.<\/p>\n

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\n In this image from video provided by NASA, Steve Altemus, CEO and co-founder of Intuitive Machines, describes how it is believed the company’s Odysseus spacecraft landed on the surface of the moon, during a news conference in Houston on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Credit: NASA via AP
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NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will attempt to pinpoint the lander’s location, as it flies overhead this weekend.<\/p>\n

With Thursday’s touchdown, Intuitive Machines became the first private business to pull off a moon landing, a feat previously achieved by only five countries. Japan was the latest country to score a landing, but its lander also ended up on its side last month.<\/p>\n

Odysseus’ mission was sponsored in large part by NASA, whose experiments were on board. NASA paid $118 million for the delivery under a program meant to jump-start the lunar economy.<\/p>\n

One of the NASA experiments was pressed into service when the lander’s navigation system did not kick in. Intuitive Machines caught the problem in advance when it tried to use its lasers to improve the lander’s orbit. Otherwise, flight controllers would not have discovered the failure until it was too late, just five minutes before touchdown.<\/p>\n

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\n In this image from video provided by NASA, Steve Altemus, CEO and co-founder of Intuitive Machines, describes how it is believed the company’s Odysseus spacecraft landed on the surface of the moon, during a news conference in Houston on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Credit: NASA via AP
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“Serendipity is absolutely the right word,” mission director Tim Crain said.<\/p>\n

It turns out that a switch was not flipped before flight, preventing the system’s activation in space.<\/p>\n

Launched last week from Florida, Odysseus took an extra lap around the moon Thursday to allow time for the last-minute switch to NASA’s laser system, which saved the day, officials noted.<\/p>\n

Another experiment, a cube with four cameras, was supposed to pop off 30 seconds before touchdown to capture pictures of Odysseus’ landing. But Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s EagleCam was deliberately powered off during the final descent because of the navigation switch and stayed attached to the lander.<\/p>\n

Embry-Riddle’s Troy Henderson said his team will try to release EagleCam in the coming days, so it can photograph the lander from roughly 26 feet (8 meters) away.<\/p>\n