Intuitive Machines lunar lander en path to the moon after SpaceX launch

Intuitive Machines first mission to the moon is now underway.

The corporate’s Nova-C lander, referred to as Odysseus, lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket within the early hours of Thursday morning. The spacecraft will now embark on a eight-day journey to the moon, with a touchdown try scheduled for February 22.

Deployment of @Int_Machines IM-1 confirmed pic.twitter.com/daPrWFkVng

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 15, 2024

The spacecraft will first enter lunar orbit 24-hours earlier than the touchdown try, and can circle the moon at an altitude of simply 100 kilometers. The lander will then attempt to land close to the Malapert A crater, close to the moon’s south pole. Onboard Odysseus are 6 scientific and analysis payloads for NASA and 6 business payloads; the objective is for those who want entry to the lunar floor to have the ability to function for as much as seven days, till the lunar night time units in.

One of many large challenges will come round 18 months after launch, when mission controllers will put together for an “engine commissioning maneuver,” when the principle engine will hearth for the primary time. That engine makes use of liquid oxygen and liquid methane as propellants (much like many rockets), that are troublesome to retailer however extremely environment friendly. Throughout this maneuver, engineers will be capable to alter the lander’s trajectory.

The lander will execute two extra burns to right its trajectory earlier than the spacecraft will try the burn to insert it into lunar orbit. Flight controllers will go into this maneuver blind, because the spacecraft might be on the far facet of the moon and unable to ship real-time updates. For descent, Odysseus must cut back its velocity by round 1,800 meters per second; for the ultimate 10 kilometer descent, the spacecraft will sluggish to a price of 1 meter per second.

“Terminal descent is like walking towards a door and closing your eyes the last three feet,” the corporate mentioned in a press kit on the mission. “You know you’re close enough, but your inner ear must lead you through the door.”

If the corporate succeeds, it will likely be the primary time the U.S. has landed a spacecraft on the moon since 1972 and the primary time a privately-made spacecraft has landed on the moon — ever.

It is a big second for Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which has been creating know-how for the moon — and dealing on this lander specifically — for years. The corporate went public through a SPAC merger final February to speed up its plans, which incorporates this mission and two extra missions to the moon for NASA already beneath contract.

This morning’s launch was additionally an enormous second for NASA, which has paid Intuitive Machines round $118 million for the mission beneath its Business Lunar Payload Companies (CLPS) program. That is simply the second moon mission to embark beneath the CLPS program; the primary, Astrobotic’s Peregrine mission final month, didn’t attain the moon attributable to a catastrophic propulsion leak.

Nevertheless, NASA officers are taking an extended view on this system, with NASA’s deputy administrator for exploration within the science mission directorate, saying in a pre-launch press convention that these missions are “a learning experience.”

“We didn’t believe that success was assured,” he mentioned.