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SPACE — After traveling more than 1,000,000 kilometers, Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus spacecraft is now closer to the moon. Odysseus is now circling the moon.
The robotic spacecraft arrived in lunar orbit this morning, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 after carrying out important maneuvers. “Odysseus completed the scheduled lunar orbit insertion main engine burn in 408 seconds and is currently in a 92 km circular lunar orbit,” wrote Intuitive Machines via X, yesterday.
Odysseus’ time in lunar orbit will be short. It will attempt to land near the moon’s south pole this Thursday, February 22 at 5:49 PM EST. So, we in Indonesia can watch the live broadcast at 5.00 WIB on Friday, February 23 2023.
Odysseus’ success will become history. No private spacecraft has ever landed safely on the moon. Since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, America has never sent a vehicle there.
Also read: Failing with a plane carrying human remains, the US is now sending statues and museums to the moon
The moon, as photographed by Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lunar lander. Image: Intuitive Machines
During his approach to the moon, Odysseus took his first lunar photo, and Intuitive Machines shared it on
Odysseus, which is about the size of a British telephone booth, launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 15, carrying 12 payloads headed for the moon. Half of them are NASA science instruments, installed by the agency through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
CLPS aims to help NASA collect data that will advance the Artemis program for human exploration of the moon. The program will utilize the capabilities of America’s commercial lunar landers.
The first mission of the CLPS program was the company Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander which failed miserably last month. The mission was controversial because it was also chartered by a space burial company. Because of this, Peregrine carried human remains and DNA, and ended up burning in Earth’s atmosphere, then buried in the deep waters of the South Pacific.
Also Read: Lunar Lander Odysseus Sends 4 First Selfie Photos with Earth
Odysseus is not the first private mission to reach lunar orbit. For example, the Beresheet and Hakuto-R lander probes from Israeli and Japanese commercial companies successfully circled Earth’s closest neighbors. However both crashed while trying to land; Beresheet in April 2019 and Hakuto-R in April 2023. Source: Space.com
