Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lander became the first commercial spacecraft to survive a trip to the moon's surface — but in what condition?
A"selfie" captured before Odysseus' landing shows the lander with the lunar surface in the background. ‘ Odysseus lander made space history today — becoming the first commercial spacecraft to survive a descent to the moon, and the first U.S. spacecraft to do so since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. But it wasn’t a smooth landing, and it wasn’t immediately clear what condition the phone booth-sized probe was in.
As mission team members applauded, Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus radioed in with his congratulations. “I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface and we are transmitting,” he said. “Welcome to the moon.”on Feb. 15. The mission’s objective was to deliver payloads from NASA and commercial customers to a spot near Malapert A crater in the lunar south polar region.
It’s possible that the lander went off track during the final stages of the descent and ended up landing askew. That’s what happened a month ago whentumbled into an awkward position on its lunar landing site. SLIM’s off-kilter solar arrays were able to soak up enough power for an abbreviated round of science observations. A similar scenario may unfold during Odysseus’ IM-1 mission.
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