During its descent toward the south polar region, one of the lander's legs may have been caught on the surface, Intuitive Machines said.
Intuitive Machines’ private lander stumbled on its way down to the lunar surface and is possibly leaning over on a rock on the Moon. The vehicle is still operational and flight engineers are working to gather more data on its less than ideal position, the company said. Odysseus landed on the Moon on Thursday, overcoming a glitch that jeopardized its ability to safely touch down.
In order to help guide the lander to the surface, flight engineers uploaded a software patch to repurpose a secondary laser on a NASA instrument that’s on board Odysseus. The Houston-based company seemingly broke the lunar curse with Thursday’s touchdown, despite it not being entirely perfect.
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Watch Intuitive Machines' private Odysseus lander attempt historic moon landing todaySharmila is a Seattle-based science journalist. She found her love for astronomy in Carl Sagan's The Pale Blue Dot and has been hooked ever since. She holds an MA in Journalism from Northeastern University and has been a contributing writer for Astronomy Magazine since 2017. Follow her on Twitter at skuthunur.
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SpaceX launches private 'Odysseus' lander on pioneering moon mission (video)Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
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Private Odysseus moon lander beams home 1st photos from spaceMichael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
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Odysseus Marks the First US Moon Landing in More Than 50 YearsA Houston-based company called Intuitive Machines made lunar history this week.
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