Odysseus, the first spacecraft to land on the moon since NASA’s Apollo 17, ended up tipped on its side but it appears to be operating OK.
A spindly robotic lander named Odysseus — designed and built by a private U.S. company — touched down near the moon’s south pole at about 6:23 p.m. Eastern time. The probe, which is carrying six NASA payloads plus a few other odds and ends, is the first U.S.
Engineers had to deal with several unexpected problems during the landing attempt, most prominently the fact that the spacecraft’s laser range finder, part of its autonomous landing system, stopped functioning. Mission planners decided to stay in orbit for an extra two hours and then were able to use two backup lasers that were part of a NASA payload to complete the descent.
Though NASA is the company’s main customer, the space agency’s instruments aren’t the only passengers. Payloads from several private companies and groups are along for the ride as well. They include a camera designed by students and faculty at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. The camera was to be jettisoned from the lander about 30 meters above the surface to capture the first images of a lunar touchdown from outside the incoming spacecraft.
The Intuitive Machines venture is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, wherein the agency hires companies to scout the moon in support of). Under Artemis, NASA aims to reestablish a human presence on the moon, with the first crewed landing no earlier than late 2026.
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