“What we can confirm, without a doubt, is our equipment is on the surface of the Moon and we are transmitting.” Those were the words from flight director Tim Crain yesterday, as private company Intuitive Machines confirmed its lander Odysseus successfully touched down on the lunar surface, making history in the process.
It marks the first time since 1972 that the US has landed on the Moon and it’s also the first time ever that a private company has put a spacecraft there. But making history is never simple; Odysseus’ ranging lasers, which help to determine its altitude and velocity, decided it was a great time to take a break and stopped working properly.
Experimental lasers from NASA ended up saving the day, and Odysseus landed at 6:23 pm EST (11:23 pm UTC) near Malapert A, a crater close to the Moon’s south pole. However, it wasn’t over yet – the robot wasn’t sending out any signals. That quiet spell soon broke, however, and a few hours later, communications were well up and running with data and pictures aplenty.
“The US has returned to the Moon,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson in an agency broadcast of the landing. “Today, for the first time in the history of humanity, a commercial company – an American company – launched and led the voyage up there. And today is the day that shows the power and promise of Nasa’s commercial partnerships.”
One of the first images from the mission as the craft headed away from Earth.
Odysseus, playfully nicknamed “Odie”, is carrying a number of NASA payloads amongst some from other private companies and research institutions. It’s hoped that it will provide vital information about the lunar south pole, because of the presence of water ice – which could come in pretty handy if we ever decide to live on the Moon.
The US isn’t the only country to have successfully landed on the Moon in recent times. Last summer, India became the fourth country ever to make a soft lunar landing with its Chandrayaan-3 mission, whilst early 2024 saw Japan’s SLIM touch down.
And there may well be more to come, with several other missions planned for the rest of this year.
Source Link: US Makes History With Its First Moon Landing In Over 50 Years
