Intuitive Machines' Odysseus Spacecraft Reignites Hope for US Artemis Program with Imminent Safe Moon Landing
In a momentous event set to unfold, Odysseus, an American spacecraft, stands on the brink of achieving a historic feat: successfully landing on the moon for the first time in half a century. This milestone revitalizes optimism for the United States' Artemis program, aimed at establishing a sustainable lunar presence.
Scheduled for today at 5:30pm EST (2230 GMT), Odysseus, affectionately dubbed "Odie," a 14-foot-tall (4.3 meters) lander developed and operated by Houston-based company Intuitive Machines, will endeavor to touch down near the moon's south pole, as reported by Space.
NASA is offering live coverage of the landing, accessible directly from the space agency, with coverage commencing at 4:00pm EST (2100 GMT).
Among the twelve payloads onboard Odysseus during its six-day voyage to the moon starting from February 15, six were NASA research and technology devices. Intuitive Machines received $118 million from the agency for this lunar journey.
Following a journey spanning over 620,000 miles (1,000,000 km), the telephone booth-sized spacecraft executed maneuvers successfully on February 21, maneuvering it into a tight circular orbit around the moon one day prior to its anticipated landing.
"We're filled with excitement, yet there's an underlying nervousness," remarked Jack Burns, a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and principal investigator for one of the NASA science instruments aboard Odysseus. "The journey to the moon's surface has seen its share of challenges."
Odysseus is slated to touch down on the rim of Malapert A, a diminutive crater situated roughly 190 miles (300 km) from the lunar south pole on the Earth-facing side, if all goes according to plan. A successful landing would mark a historic milestone, as no private probe has achieved a soft lunar landing before.
Prior attempts by others have faced hurdles. Last month, the Peregrine lander from Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic encountered a propellant leak during launch, resulting in its crash back to Earth. Similarly, both the Japanese Hakuto-R and Israeli Beresheet spacecrafts experienced landing failures in April 2023 and April 2019, respectively, after reaching lunar orbit.
As anticipation mounts, the world watches closely, awaiting Odysseus' potential groundbreaking achievement, which could pave the way for future lunar exploration endeavors.
