Odysseus has departed on a deadly journey that’s larger-than-life. No, we’re not speaking concerning the mythological hero Ulysses from the immortal Odyssey and Iliad – however the brand new American spacecraft that’s embarking in a mission that’s each bit as unbelievable.
We’re speaking a few solar-powered lunar lander lifted off from Florida early on Thursday on a mission to turn out to be the primary personal spacecraft to realize a managed moon touchdown.
The Guardian reported:
“Odysseus, the working title for the uncrewed Nova-C lander constructed by the Houston-based aerospace firm Intuitive Machines, lit up the skies above Cape Canaveral shortly after 1am on a Falcon 9 rocket from Elon Musk’s SpaceX firm.
Its scheduled 22 February landing close to the moon’s south pole can be the primary lunar touchdown of a US spacecraft since Nasa’s last Apollo mission in December 1972, and the primary by a non-government entity. It’ll ship a collection of scientific tools belonging to the company that can collect knowledge concerning the lunar atmosphere to assist put together for the subsequent touchdown of US astronauts, the Artemis III mission at present scheduled for 2026.”
The IM-1 launch to the Moon efficiently lifted off Feb. 15 on @SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. @Int_Machines’ Nova-C lander is predicted to succeed in the lunar floor on Feb. 22: https://t.co/7Y8I2V9QSQ pic.twitter.com/EuOcLaPciV
— NASA (@NASA) February 15, 2024
Intuitive Machines, owned by a former Nasa’s director of engineering, invested about $130m into the IM-1 mission, with Nasa funding an additional $118m to get it off the bottom.
Odysseus will undertake a 240,000-mile, weeklong journey to the moon.
“The lander is a 14ft (4.3 meter) hexagon-shaped craft with six legs, and is aimed in the direction of a touchdown at crater Malapert A near the lunar south pole. Nasa is concentrating on the craggy space for the primary Artemis touchdown, believing it wealthy in frozen water that might assist maintain a everlasting lunar base essential to future human missions to Mars.
Odysseus is carrying a payload of six Nasa science devices and expertise demonstrations as a part of the company’s business lunar payload providers initiative tied to its Artemis program.”
The mission’s devices will examine area climate results on the lunar floor, and a community of markers for communication and navigation will probably be deployed on Earth’s satellite tv for pc.
“’Nasa scientific instruments are on their way to the moon, a giant leap for humanity as we prepare to return to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century’, the Nasa administrator, Bill Nelson, said. ‘These daring moon deliveries will not only conduct new science at the moon, but they are supporting a growing commercial space economy while showing the strength of American technology and innovation. We have so much to learn that will help us shape the future of human exploration for the Artemis generation’.”
Futurism reported:
“If successful, the Odysseus lander will be both the first private lunar lander in history to make safe landfall on the surface of the Moon and the first American craft to touch down there since the Apollo 17 mission in late 1972 — with the operative word here being ‘if’.”
Learn: OH, NO: Japanese SLIM Lunar Lander Is Upside Down on the Moon Surface!
Solely two of the 5 landers that tried lunar touchdowns final 12 months the place profitable — and the Japanese one landed upside down.
“As NASA continues to push again the launch dates of its personal Artemis lunar mission — due, satirically, to points associated to SpaceX — which can finally see human boots on the Moon for the primary time in additional than half a century, the viability of those extremely costly missions turns into all of the extra vital.
With its 11 payloads — six from NASA and 5 from business shoppers — there’s clearly so much driving on Odysseus. As such, the parents at Intuitive Machines are publicly optimistic concerning the lander’s possibilities.”
Like an arrow from Cupid’s bow, the subsequent business lunar supply wings its approach to the Moon. Six of our science and expertise devices are headed for the lunar southern highlands. https://t.co/qLOxwk7jqh pic.twitter.com/nun0MmN9Pv
— NASA (@NASA) February 15, 2024
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