The Odysseus spacecraft, the first private US Moon lander, on Monday (Feb 26) beamed new images back home as it rests on a rock after landing on its side. The vehicle touched down on the lunar surface on Thursday (Feb 22), prompting mixed reactions from its controllers.
Grainy images shared by Intuitive Machines, the parent company of Odysseus, encompass the harrowing journey of the lander.
The shaky landing ended up pointing the lander’s antennas in an unfavourable direction, making communication with the spaceship extremely challenging.
Watch: Odysseus moon landing: Historic mission reaches lunar surface
The company posted on X that it would lose contact with the lander Tuesday morning. Initially, the company had said the lander would operate on the lunar surface for eight to nine days.
“Flight controllers intend to collect data until the lander’s solar panels are no longer exposed to light,” the company said in the update posted on the social media platform X. “Based on Earth and Moon positioning, we believe flight controllers will continue to communicate with Odysseus until Tuesday morning.”
One of the images shared by Odysseus was captured “approximately 35 seconds after pitching over during its approach to the landing site,” the company said in the post.
Odysseus continues to communicate with flight controllers in Nova Control from the lunar surface. After understanding the end-to-end communication requirements, Odysseus sent images from the lunar surface of its vertical descent to its Malapert A landing site, representing the… pic.twitter.com/CuCkOVvBqu
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 26, 2024
Odysseus captured this image approximately 35 seconds after pitching over during its approach to the landing site. The camera is on the starboard aft-side of the lander in this phase. 2/5 (26FEB2024 0745 CST) pic.twitter.com/oUcjk3bCqW
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 26, 2024
Intuitive Machines also shared a picture captured by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, which has been circling the moon since 2009, showing the ill-fated spacecraft’s landing site.
Images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team confirmed Odysseus completed its landing at 80.13°S and 1.44°E at a 2579 m elevation. After traveling more than 600,000 miles, Odysseus landed within 1.5 km of its intended Malapert A landing site, using a contingent… pic.twitter.com/CaMSSO4Gfb
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 26, 2024
The company added the vehicle landed within 1.5 kilometres (5,000 feet) of its intended landing site, “representing the furthest south any vehicle has been able to land on the Moon and establish communication with ground controllers.”
Odysseus is carrying six science and tech demonstration payloads with it, an endeavour backed by a $118 million contract with NASA.
Odysseus also carried a few pieces of cargo from the private sector, including a work of art and a camera, called EagleCam, which was designed to pop off the lander and capture a “selfie” of the spacecraft during its final descent.
(With inputs from agencies)
