Private U.S. Lunar Lander Encounters Mishap at Moon’s South Pole
In a groundbreaking mission, a private U.S. lunar lander, named Odysseus, tipped over upon touchdown near the moon’s south pole, causing communication difficulties, according to company officials. Intuitive Machines, the company behind the lander, initially believed that the six-footed craft was upright after landing on Thursday. However, CEO Steve Altemus revealed on Friday that the lander had “caught a foot in the surface,” causing it to fall onto its side, possibly leaning against a rock. Altemus speculated that the lander may have been descending too quickly, resulting in a snapped leg.
Despite the mishap, Altemus assured reporters that the lander still possessed significant operational capabilities. However, some antennas were obstructed by the surface, limiting flight controllers’ ability to retrieve data. These antennas were positioned high on the 14-foot lander to facilitate communication in the challenging terrain of the south polar region, characterized by hills, craters, and shadows.
Odysseus, the first U.S. lander in over 50 years, is believed to be within a few miles of its intended landing site near the Malapert A crater, less than 200 miles from the south pole. NASA, the primary customer for this mission, aimed to explore this area before astronauts arrive later in the decade. To determine the precise location of the lander, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will fly overhead during the upcoming weekend.
With Thursday’s touchdown, Intuitive Machines became the first private company to successfully achieve a moon landing, a feat previously accomplished by only five countries. Japan was the most recent country to achieve a landing; however, its lander also ended up on its side last month. Odysseus’ mission received significant sponsorship from NASA, which had experiments onboard. Under a program designed to stimulate the lunar economy, NASA paid $118 million for the delivery.
During the mission, one of NASA’s experiments was employed when the lander’s navigation system failed to activate. Intuitive Machines detected the issue in advance while attempting to use lasers to improve the lander’s orbit. Otherwise, flight controllers would have only discovered the problem five minutes before touchdown, rendering it too late to rectify. Mission director Tim Crain described this fortunate turn of events as “serendipity.”
The problem stemmed from a switch that was not flipped before the flight, preventing the system’s activation in space. Odysseus, launched from Florida last week, took an additional lap around the moon on Thursday to allow time for the last-minute switch to NASA’s laser system, which ultimately saved the mission.
Another experiment onboard Odysseus involved a cube equipped with four cameras. It was intended to detach from the lander 30 seconds before touchdown to capture images of the landing. However, due to the navigation switch issue, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s EagleCam remained attached and was deliberately powered off during descent. Troy Henderson, from Embry-Riddle, expressed his team’s determination to release EagleCam in the coming days, enabling it to photograph the lander from a distance of approximately 26 feet.
Intuitive Machines expects to operate the solar-powered lander on the moon for just one more week, or at most, nine or ten days, before lunar nightfall occurs. The company is the second participant in NASA’s commercial lunar services program to attempt a moon landing. Last month, Astrobotic Technology from Pittsburgh also made an endeavor; however, a fuel leak on their lander prematurely terminated the mission, resulting in a crash back to Earth.
Prior to Thursday’s achievement, the United States had not landed on the moon since Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt concluded NASA’s renowned moon-landing program in December 1972. NASA’s current initiative to return astronauts to the moon is named Artemis, after Apollo’s mythological twin sister. The first Artemis crew landing is scheduled for 2026, at the earliest.
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