{"id":55284,"date":"2024-02-26T09:16:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T09:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7e30a388-4956-4dcf-af85-ff3ff5a0ee0c"},"modified":"2024-02-26T09:32:33","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T09:32:33","slug":"nasa-moon-landing-odysseus-spacecraft-tipped-on-its-side-during-landing","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/nasa-moon-landing-odysseus-spacecraft-tipped-on-its-side-during-landing\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Moon landing: Odysseus spacecraft tipped on its side during landing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus achieves first US soft landing on the Moon since Apollo missions. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Monday, 26 February 2024 at 09:16 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The Odysseus Moon lander that made a successful touchdown on the lunar surface on 22 February has ‘tipped over’ and is lying on its side.<\/p>

The news was revealed by Intuitive Machines, the US firm that built the lander, which has become the first US-made spacecraft to reach the lunar surface since the Apollo programme ended in 1972.<\/p>

An image of Schomberger crater on the Moon captured by Intuitive Machines\u2019 Odysseus lunar lander, 22 February 2024. Credit: Intuitive Machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Odysseus spacecraft did make a soft landing on the Moon, but analysis of data by flight engineers has revealed it tipped over during the landing and is now lying on its side.<\/p>
It’s thought the lunar lander caught one of its ‘feet’ on the rocky lunar surface and tipped over.<\/p>
However, Intuitive Machines has said that Odysseus is stable and near or at the targeted landing site at the Moon’s South Pole.<\/p>
Communications with the ground control team are also still stable, the company has said.<\/p>
$\"NASA$
NASA and Intuitive Machines hosted a news conference on 23 February 2024 at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss the soft landing of the company\u2019s Nova-C lander, called Odysseus. Credit: NASA\/Robert Markowitz<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The spacecraft is carrying a NASA radio telescope and other science instruments that can carry out observations from the lunar surface.<\/p>
But the achievement also marks another step towards putting human feet back on the Moon via NASA’s Artemis programme<\/a>.<\/p>
$\"Ground$
Ground teams applaud as it is confirmed the Odysseus spacecraft has landed on the Moon. Credit: NASA \/ Intuitive Machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Intuitive Machines\u2019 uncrewed lunar lander touched down at 5:23 p.m. CST (23:23 UTC) on Thursday 22 February.<\/p>
The instruments aboard Odysseus are helping NASA to prepare for future missions to put humans back on the Moon.<\/p>
And that’s one reason why this mission is so historic: it’s the first commercial spacecraft to soft-land on the surface of the Moon.<\/p>
It’s also the first time a US spacecraft has landed on the lunar surface since the Apollo missions, which ended in 1972.<\/p>
Looking to the future, NASA will be celebrating the Odysseus lander’s successful touchdown as it marks a new era of the agency’s exploration of the Moon.<\/p>
Lessons learned through the landing, and through science carried out on the surface, can inform future Artemis missions and are a step towards a permanent human settlement on the Moon.<\/p>
$\"The$
The moment Ground Control confirmed the Odysseus lander had successfully touched down on the Moon. Credit: NASA\/Intuitive Machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Odysseus lander and IM-1 mission launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 15 February.<\/p>
After successful lunar orbit insertion on 21 February, Odysseus began orbiting the Moon about 12 miles above the surface.<\/p>
It then achieved soft landing near crater Malapert A, 300 kilometres from the Moon’s south pole.<\/p>
“Today for the first time in more than a half-century, the US has returned to the moon,” says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.<\/p>
“Today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA\u2019s commercial partnerships. Congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring quest.”<\/p>
Your order was delivered\u2026 to the Moon! ?@Int_Machines<\/a>‘ uncrewed lunar lander landed at 6:23pm ET (2323 UTC), bringing NASA science to the Moon’s surface. These instruments will prepare us for future human exploration of the Moon under #Artemis<\/a>. pic.twitter.com\/sS0poiWxrU<\/a><\/p>\u2014 NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>

An image of Schomberger crater on the Moon captured by Intuitive Machines\u2019 Odysseus lunar lander, 22 February 2024. Credit: Intuitive Machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Odysseus spacecraft did make a soft landing on the Moon, but analysis of data by flight engineers has revealed it tipped over during the landing and is now lying on its side.<\/p>
It’s thought the lunar lander caught one of its ‘feet’ on the rocky lunar surface and tipped over.<\/p>
However, Intuitive Machines has said that Odysseus is stable and near or at the targeted landing site at the Moon’s South Pole.<\/p>
Communications with the ground control team are also still stable, the company has said.<\/p>
$\"NASA$
NASA and Intuitive Machines hosted a news conference on 23 February 2024 at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss the soft landing of the company\u2019s Nova-C lander, called Odysseus. Credit: NASA\/Robert Markowitz<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The spacecraft is carrying a NASA radio telescope and other science instruments that can carry out observations from the lunar surface.<\/p>
But the achievement also marks another step towards putting human feet back on the Moon via NASA’s Artemis programme<\/a>.<\/p>
$\"Ground$
Ground teams applaud as it is confirmed the Odysseus spacecraft has landed on the Moon. Credit: NASA \/ Intuitive Machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Intuitive Machines\u2019 uncrewed lunar lander touched down at 5:23 p.m. CST (23:23 UTC) on Thursday 22 February.<\/p>
The instruments aboard Odysseus are helping NASA to prepare for future missions to put humans back on the Moon.<\/p>
And that’s one reason why this mission is so historic: it’s the first commercial spacecraft to soft-land on the surface of the Moon.<\/p>
It’s also the first time a US spacecraft has landed on the lunar surface since the Apollo missions, which ended in 1972.<\/p>
Looking to the future, NASA will be celebrating the Odysseus lander’s successful touchdown as it marks a new era of the agency’s exploration of the Moon.<\/p>
Lessons learned through the landing, and through science carried out on the surface, can inform future Artemis missions and are a step towards a permanent human settlement on the Moon.<\/p>
$\"The$
The moment Ground Control confirmed the Odysseus lander had successfully touched down on the Moon. Credit: NASA\/Intuitive Machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Odysseus lander and IM-1 mission launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 15 February.<\/p>
After successful lunar orbit insertion on 21 February, Odysseus began orbiting the Moon about 12 miles above the surface.<\/p>
It then achieved soft landing near crater Malapert A, 300 kilometres from the Moon’s south pole.<\/p>
“Today for the first time in more than a half-century, the US has returned to the moon,” says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.<\/p>
“Today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA\u2019s commercial partnerships. Congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring quest.”<\/p>
Your order was delivered\u2026 to the Moon! ?@Int_Machines<\/a>‘ uncrewed lunar lander landed at 6:23pm ET (2323 UTC), bringing NASA science to the Moon’s surface. These instruments will prepare us for future human exploration of the Moon under #Artemis<\/a>. pic.twitter.com\/sS0poiWxrU<\/a><\/p>\u2014 NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>