MADRID, 23 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander successfully landed near the Moon’s south pole, marking the US’s return to lunar soil more than 50 years after the end of the Apollo program.
The hexagonal-shaped spacecraft landed gently and autonomously at 23:23 UTC on February 22 in the Malapert A impact crater, 24 kilometers in diameter and about 300 kilometers from the south pole of the Moon. The descent occurred from an orbit 92 kilometers from the Moon. Confirmation of the landing did not reach mission control until 13 minutes later, when the module’s acquisition signal was received.
The lander from Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based company contracted by NASA to deliver scientific payload to the Moon, lifted off on February 15 at 06:05 UTC on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center and has traveled a million kilometers. The module is planned to operate on the surface for one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 Earth days.
It was the second attempt by the United States in a few weeks to return to the Moon, for now with robotic missions, after the end of the Apollo program half a century ago. Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander was launched on January 8, but the ship’s loss of fuel prevented it from reaching its destination, which was scheduled for February 23.
Both missions are part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Cargo Services (CLPS) initiative, through which the agency contracts with private companies to build and launch the spacecraft.
One of the NASA instruments carried by Odysseus, the Radio Frequency Mass Meter, is measuring cryogenic thrusters on the spacecraft throughout the mission. Data files have been collected and many have been downloaded for analysis. Throughout the propellant loading phase that took place before launch, the instrument collected data, which was downloaded and analyzed in near real time. Data has also been collected during the microgravity transit phase of the mission. This analysis has continued until the landing on the Moon.
Another NASA instrument, the Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator, integrates navigation and communication functionality. This scientific instrument has been operating daily during the cruise phase. The radio beacon is designed to enable precise geolocation and navigation observations to orbiters, landers and surface personnel, digitally confirming their positions on the Moon in relation to other spacecraft, ground stations or moving rovers. The checkout helps prepare for landing on the Moon, as the navigation demonstrator aims to collect this data for the duration of the surface operations phase of the mission.
In total, the spacecraft carries six NASA payloads, which will also study interactions between space weather and the lunar surface, and radio astronomy.
