Odysseus lands near the lunar south pole
Former Soviet Union, USA, China, India, Japan
Five countries succeed in landing lunar probes
A view of the private lunar lander Odysseus, which successfully landed on the moon around 7 p.m. Eastern time in the United States on the 22nd. <사진=인튜이티브 머신>
The U.S. private lunar exploration vehicle Odysseus successfully landed on the moon on the 22nd (local time). It has been 52 years since NASA’s lunar lander last arrived on the moon in 1972.
US space company Intuitive Machines said its lunar probe ‘Odysseus’ (Nova-C) entered a crater near the South Pole of the Moon at 5:24 pm on the 22nd (8:24 am on the 23rd, Korean time) Central US time. It was announced that it had succeeded in landing at point ‘Malaffert A’.
CEO Steven Altemus said in a broadcast broadcast live on the website that day, “I know this was difficult, but we are on the surface of the moon and transmitting (signals),” and “Welcome to the moon.” announced.
“The exact status of the lander is not yet clear, but the company has confirmed that the lander has made contact with the moon,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also announced that the United States had landed a lander on the moon for the first time in half a century. This is the first lunar lander built by a private company.
Currently, the countries that have successfully landed on the moon include the former Soviet Union, the United States, China, India, and Japan. Japan succeeded in landing on the moon last month, increasing the number of countries to five.
The success of a private lunar probe landing on the moon can be seen as the success of America’s ‘New Space’, a privately-led space development effort.
Odysseus went into space on SpaceX, an American private space launch company, while the failed Peregrine was launched into space on ULA’s rocket. In the United States, NASA is supporting a private lunar lander under the Artemis project. Plans are also being pursued to land humans on the lunar surface in 2026.
Intuitive Machines, the first private company to successfully land a lander on the moon, was listed indirectly through SPAC last year. With the successful landing this time, the stock price soared 35% in after-hours trading.
[실리콘밸리 이덕주 특파원]