Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus spacecraft sent back the first images of the southernmost part of the Moon, where no other craft had ever landed, and the US private company shared two of those photos on the X platform.
Odysseus touched down closer to the Moon’s South Pole than any other lander. The South Pole is the intended region for our @NASAArtemis missions because of resources for exploration and potential for scientific discovery. pic.twitter.com/exMXrJs6Jj
— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) February 26, 2024
The spacecraft, approximately four meters high, landed on the moon at 01:23 at dawn last Friday (Greece time). This was the first time a private company had sent a spacecraft to the Moon and, at the same time, the first landing for the US in 50 years. However, the final descent was complicated by a malfunction in the navigation system, and Odysseus, instead of descending vertically, found himself falling sideways.
the first picture of the odysseus lander on the moon, captured by the lunar reconnaissance orbiter pic.twitter.com/pDuz7CASIK
— Jasmine 🌌🔭 (@astro_jaz) February 26, 2024
“Odysseus is still communicating with Nova Control’s flight controllers from the lunar surface,” the company said today, releasing the two photos, one during descent and another 35 seconds after it fell, showing the bedrock of the Malapert Crater.
The craft is carrying scientific instruments from NASA, which wanted to explore the Moon’s south pole before sending astronauts there as part of the Artemis missions. The US space agency decided to outsource this work to private companies. With this strategy he will manage to make the trip to the Moon more often and cheaper.
It should also be noted that the Japanese space agency Jaxa announced earlier that the Japanese SLIM spacecraft, which landed on the moon at the end of January, has also become active again. SLIM was also tilted during its descent, and its photovoltaics were facing west, so they were not collecting sunlight.
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