The Odysseus lunar probe will soon be mothballed

The American probe Odysseus, after nearly a week on the moon, will soon sleep at the end of its main mission on Wednesday “success” Despite the difficulties faced by NASA and the American company that developed it, Intuitive Machines. Last Thursday, Odysseus became the first private probe to land on the Moon, and the first American spacecraft to do so since the end of the Apollo program in 1972. However, it was found tilted on the lunar surface after an uneventful landing. Despite this, “We have received data from all cargo, private and NASA”Underlined Steve Altamus, CEO and co-founder of Intuitive Machines during a press conference. “The mission we’ve undertaken has been very successful so far.”

The boss also makes a surprising announcement: the intuitive machines plan to try to bring Odysseus back to life “In two or three weeks”, after the passing of the lunar night. However, it is highly uncertain whether the device, especially its battery, will survive the freezing cold that is about to set in. For the moment, the lander will be “go to sleep”, said Steve Altemus. The lander is powered by its solar panels, and was therefore initially supposed to shut down during lunar nights. A few hours into the press conference, contact was lost.

Six broken legs

An impressive photo released Wednesday shows the challenges faced: It shows at least one of the probe’s six legs broken at landing, while the engine was still running © raising projections of lunar dust. Failure of the lander’s navigation system complicated its final landing. It approached the ground very quickly, with a residual horizontal movement that was not expected, and so “slip” On the surface, the CEO explained. Once placed, it tilts. Since Odysseus is positioned on a slight slope, and probably leaning to one side on one of his tanks, it is tilted at about 30 degrees, according to Intuitive Machines.

The second image, on which we can see the blackness of the probe tip and the nearby pit, confirms this position. A small device called EagleCam, equipped with a camera and developed by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was ejected from the lander in an attempt to photograph the exterior, but was unable to provide the long-awaited shot. The mission, though private, was set up largely thanks to funding from NASA, which commissioned Intuitive Machines to transport six scientific instruments to the moon—a $118 million contract. “Odysseus is a success from NASA’s point of view”Bill Nelson, the head of the American space agency, announced to the press on Wednesday.

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Moon south pole at the heart of desire

Scientists have begun examining radio waves recorded from Earth using an instrument. Another was unable to analyze the amount of dust projected during landing as expected, but was able to ignite once on the ground. Odysseus is the probe that landed the furthest south on the moon. NASA wants to explore the region before sending its astronauts there as part of its Artemis mission. The lunar south pole is of particular interest to superpowers because it may contain large amounts of water in the form of ice. This water can be used to make fuel for spacecraft or to support the needs of astronauts in space.

Intuitive Machines has two more lunar missions planned this year. It’s all part of NASA’s new CLPS program, which has mandated several companies to transport its scientific instruments, so they can travel more often and for less money than developing vehicles. ©hicules to do it. The American space agency also intends to stimulate the development of a lunar economy, capable of supporting a sustainable human presence on the Moon – one of the goals of the Artemis program.

More than 50 years after Apollo, “People asked”Why is the moon landing? “too hard”, Steve Altemus reports. He noted several differences between past and current missions: limited funding, tight schedules, and landings far beyond the equator. “We have fundamentally changed the economic barriers to a moon landing”The CEO of this young company established in 2013 said. “We have opened the door to a strong and prosperous lunar economy in the future.”