T-minus one day and counting as America prepares for the historic landing of Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander Odysseus near the lunar south pole. The uncrewed mission, which launched from Kennedy Space Center six days ago has so far gone off without a hitch.
Odysseus’s soft Moon landing will be the first for an American-made spacecraft since Apollo 17, more than 50 years ago. It would also be the first soft lunar landing by a private company. Even more significantly, the landing will represent the first US mission to the lunar south pole. The region has become an area of intense interest recently by bot world governments and private companies due to the probability that significant ice exists there. The presence of lunar ice is critical to plans for long-term crewed missions since it can be used to generate oxygen and fuel, as well as for drinking and irrigation purposes.
The Odysseus is a Nova-C Class lunar lander manufactured by Intuitive Machines of Houston, TX. Intuitive Machines is one of several private companies participating in the NASA-sponsored Commercial Lander Payload Service (CLPS) program. The program is designed to carry out the scientific missions as well as payload placements necessary for the Artemis Program’s return of humans to the moon sometime in the last half of the decade.
IM-1 Mission Completes Lunar Orbit Insertion and Enters Lunar Orbit
As of 1100 AM EDT February 21, 2024, the latest update from Intuitive Machines said the lander has successfully been placed in a 92km high circular orbit around the moon. According to the company, “Odysseus is now closer to the Moon than the end-to-end distance driving across Space City, Houston, TX.”
Over the next day, while the lander remains in lunar orbit, flight controllers will analyze the complete flight data and transmit imagery of the Moon.
“Odysseus continues to be in excellent health. We expect to continue to provide mission updates at least once a day on X and the IM-1 Mission web page, where we intend to host a live stream for landing coverage.” said a company spokesperson.
You can also watch the landing coverage beginning at 4:15 PM EDT on NASA TV at https://floridamedianow.com/nasa-live-feed/
NASA and Intuitive Machines are planning to land the IM-1 Nova-C lunar lander “Odysseus” on the moon’s surface tomorrow, and so far, everything is going well for the mission.
IM has been remarkably transparent and informative throughout the duration of the mission so far, and have been issuing daily updates on the vehicle status and their activities as Odysseus travels cislunar space.
Landing Zone
The landing site selected for this mission is Malapert A, a satellite crater to Malapert, a 69 km crater in the Moon’s south pole region. Named after Charles Malapert, a 17th-century Belgian astronomer, the area around the landing site is believed to be made of lunar highland material, similar to Apollo 16’s landing site in the Descartes Highlands.
Oblique image showing the IM-1 landing area, acquired from an altitude of 78 kilometers with a slew angle of 64° on 2023-04-02. North is to the right, 57 kilometers wide at the center, LROC NAC M1435077792LR Photo: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Experiments Aboard
- ILO-X International Lunar Observatory Instrument
- Laser Retro-Reflector Array, a NASA Instrument to reflect light.
- Navigation Doppler Lidar for Precise Velocity and Range Sensing, a NASA Instrument
- Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator NASA Instrument
- Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies NASA Instrument
- Radiowave Observations at the Lunar Surface (ROLSES), a NASA / University of Colorado Boulder Instrument
- Tiger Eye 1, a Louisiana State University Instrument
- EagleCAM Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University CubeSat
- Lunaprise Galactic Legacy Labs Memorial
- Moon Phases Pace Verso / 4Space / NFMoon Sculpture
NASA said that “the Lunar Node-1 experiment, or LN-1, is a radio beacon designed to support precise geolocation and navigation observations for landers, surface infrastructure, and astronauts, digitally confirming their positions on the Moon relative to other craft, ground stations, or rovers on the move. These radio beacons also can be used in space to help with orbital maneuvers and with guiding landers to a successful touchdown on the lunar surface.”
Odysseus will then have seven days to complete experiments on the lunar surface before the lunar night sets on the south pole of the Moon, rendering the spacecraft inoperable.
Utility of Lunar Node-1
“Imagine getting verification from a lighthouse on the shore you’re approaching, rather than waiting on word from the home port you left days earlier,” said Evan Anzalone, principal investigator of LN-1 and a navigation systems engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “What we seek to deliver is a lunar network of lighthouses, offering sustainable, localized navigation assets that enable lunar craft and ground crews to quickly and accurately confirm their position instead of relying on Earth.”
FMN’s Charles Boyer Contributed To This Story
