Follow the first private lunar landing attempt in history – Liberation

Another short trip around the moon? “Flight controllers chose to make an additional orbit before beginning the landing sequence”, Tweet Intuitive Machines. The scheduled time of contact is pushed back to 12:24 am, and NASA’s live video will finally begin at 11 pm.

Program changes. The timing of the planned lunar landing has just moved forward, because “Flight controllers ordered corrective maneuvers to increase Odysseus’ orbit”.. It is not clear why the spacecraft had to change altitude, but it is now expected to touch down on the lunar surface at 10:24 pm.

Video evening. To follow the moon landing attempt live, NASA is offering a video evening on its YouTube channel starting at 10 p.m. (Paris time). Interesting events begin at 10:17 p.m., beginning Odysseus’ slow descent toward the lunar surface. At 11:28 p.m., the ship will tilt vertically and launch its four metal legs at the moon, while activating its obstacle detection system that will allow final adjustments in the event Odysseus loses his position. will reach straight to the cliff. At 11:29 p.m., it’s time to slow down as much as possible for the retrorockets to come slowly. Contact at 11:30 PM. We should have signals from the ship very quickly to prove that it is still in working order, so that it has not crashed. If all goes well, we will also receive a photo of our environment…

to add This is the most delicate maneuver before the lunar landing: this Wednesday, February 21, the lander had to turn on its engines to significantly change its trajectory and “enter” orbit around the moon (rather than speed past it). “Odysseus has completed its lunar orbital insertion burn and is currently in a 92 kilometer circular lunar orbit.”Intuitive machines welcomed continued (formerly Twitter).

postcards. Odysseus takes several cameras with him to document his moon landing in pictures. The first postcards arrived shortly after his departure. With a wide-angle lens that distorts and rounds everything, the lander photographed the Earth shrinking behind it…

So far so good. And it’s already not bad. Intuitive Machines Lander, named Odysseus, Last Thursday aboard a SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, it flew toward our natural satellite. The rocket pushed it on the right trajectory and then fell back towards EarthOdysseus Alone continued his journey. We recall that a month earlier, Intuitive Machines’ competitor, Astrobotic, had made the exact same journey but had to abandon prematurely and return to Earth instead of approaching the Moon.

Shortly after takeoff, no electronic equipmentOdysseus Sensors and radios – continued. At one point, “The navigation system rejected the Star Tracker data, but we sent an update patch to the ship, and the Star Tracker started working again. Nominal performance.”, says Intuitive Machines in a press release. The private company strives to detail its vehicle’s journey and its minor risks, communicating transparently about its mission, like NASA, its future partner on the moon. Intuitive machines, such as the Astrobotic, were actually chosen by the American Space Agency as service providers to transport cargo to and from the Moon.