Intuitive Machines has landed its Odysseus spacecraft on the moon, making it the first private company to achieve a feat previously only accomplished by national space agencies
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander has touched down on the moon. This is the first time that a private firm has landed a spacecraft on the lunar surface, a welcome success after a recent string of high-profile landing failures by other companies.
The Odysseus craft launched for this flight, called the IM-1 mission, atop a Falcon 9 rocket on 14 February. It arrived in lunar orbit on 21 February before landing near the south pole of the moon on 22 February. The live feed from mission control was tense, as the planned landing time slipped by with no communication from the lander. Eventually, several minutes after Odysseus was supposed to land, mission director Tim Crain in Intuitive Machines’ mission control said, “We’re picking up a signal – it’s faint, but it’s there.”The signal showed that the spacecraft had touched down on the moon, but the state of the craft is still unknown. Nevertheless, the landing was a success.
Now that it has landed safely, the second part of the IM-1 mission can begin. Odysseus carried six NASA payloads and six commercial payloads with it to the moon. Some of these, such as devices to assist with the landing and a camera to take photographs of the landing, have already served their purpose. A few have succeeded just by making it to the moon – perhaps most notably a collection of 125 tiny sculptures by artist Jeff Koons.
The IM-1 mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, through which government contracts are awarded to private companies with the aim of building space flight capabilities through public-private partnerships. Threeare planned through CLPS in 2024, one of which is Intuitive Machines’ mission to harvest water ice from the south pole of the moon.
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Watch Intuitive Machines' private Odysseus lander attempt historic moon landing todaySharmila is a Seattle-based science journalist. She found her love for astronomy in Carl Sagan's The Pale Blue Dot and has been hooked ever since. She holds an MA in Journalism from Northeastern University and has been a contributing writer for Astronomy Magazine since 2017. Follow her on Twitter at skuthunur.
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Intuitive Machines’ moon lander sent home its first images and they’re breathtakingCheyenne is Engadget’s weekend editor and covers a little bit of everything. She’s particularly interested in emerging technology and niche gadgets, climate change, space, privacy, and internet culture. She’ll talk your ear off about Tamagotchis if you get her started.
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