Four days after Intuitive Machines\u2019 Odysseus lander made an off-kilter touchdown on the moon, the mission team is releasing snapshots that were taken during its descent.<\/p>\n
The ultra-wide-angle images confirm that the lander is continuing to communicate with flight controllers, even though it\u2019s lying in an awkward angle that limits how much data its antennas can transmit.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, images from NASA\u2019s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have identified Odysseus\u2019 landing spot, within a mile (1.5 kilometers) of its intended target near a crater called Malapert A in the moon\u2019s south polar region. The bad news is that the solar-powered lander may have to go dark sooner than anticipated.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The lander is the first-ever commercial spacecraft to survive a descent to the moon, and the first U.S-built spacecraft to do so since NASA\u2019s Apollo 17 mission in 1972. NASA is paying Intuitive Machines $118 million to deliver six science payloads to the surface, and there are another six private-sector payloads on board.<\/p>\n Odysseus\u2019 descent wasn\u2019t easy: Just hours before the landing, the Nova Control team had to reprogram the lander to work around a disabled laser range-finding system. The spacecraft instead made use of one of the NASA payloads, an experimental laser range-finding system. Fortunately, the work-around worked.<\/p>\n The lander also hit the dirt faster than originally planned, with a lateral motion that\u2019s thought to have tripped up one of Odysseus\u2019 landing legs. As a result, the spacecraft is lying on its side. Mission managers say that doesn\u2019t seem likely to affect data collection, but it is affecting data transmission.<\/p>\n Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter\u2019s images from this past weekend indicate that Odysseus hit a bull\u2019s-eye, just like the hero from Greek mythology after whom it was named. <\/p>\n \u201cAfter traveling more than 600,000 miles, Odysseus landed within 1.5 km of its intended Malapert A landing site, using a contingent laser range-finding system patched hours before landing,\u201d Intuitive Machines said in today\u2019s update.<\/p>\n But Intuitive Machines also suggested that Odysseus won\u2019t be able to remain in operation for the week to 10 days that mission managers had hoped for. \u201cFlight controllers intend to collect data until the lander\u2019s solar panels are no longer exposed to light,\u201d according to the update. \u201cBased on Earth and moon positioning, we believe flight controllers will continue to communicate with Odysseus until Tuesday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe Odysseus and its controllers will have to hope for an unexpected revival similar to what the team behind another off-kilter moon lander, Japan\u2019s SLIM spacecraft, experienced this weekend.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/lro1-1024x575.jpg\")
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