The American Odysseus probe, which has been on the surface of the moon for about a week, will soon enter a state of hibernation, at the end of its main mission, which was described on Wednesday as “successful” by NASA and the American company that developed it, Intuitive Machines, despite the difficulties it faces.
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, he found himself leaning on the moon's surface after an eventful landing.
despite this, We have received data from all private shipments and NASA
Steve Altemus, CEO and co-founder of Intuitive Machines, confirmed in a press conference. The mission we have undertaken has been a great success so far.
The President even announces a surprise: Intuitive Machines plans to try to reignite Odysseus Within two or three weeks
after the lunar night has passed.
However, it is uncertain whether the device, especially its batteries, will survive the extreme cold that is about to set in.
For now, it will be bearish Put to sleep
Steve Altimus said.
The lunar lander is powered by its solar panels, and was therefore supposed to be turned off during lunar night from the beginning. Communication was cut off during the few hours following the press conference.
Odysseus's terrestrial operations are expected to last about seven days at most, before night falls over the moon's south pole.
Image: Reuters/Intuitive Machines
An impressive photo released on Wednesday illustrates the challenges faced: It shows at least one of the rover's six legs broken at the time of landing, while the still-smoldering engine shoots up spikes of lunar dust.
A failure of the lander's navigation system complicated its final landing.
It approached the Earth very quickly, with a residual horizontal motion that was not expected, as a result slid
The CEO explained on the roof. Once placed, it flipped over.
Because Odysseus is on a slight slope, perhaps leaning on one of his tanks to one side, he is tilted at about 30 degrees, according to Intuitive Machines.
Another image, in which we can see the tip of the probe and the color of the nearby black hole, confirms this position.
A small rover equipped with a camera called EagleCam, developed by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was ejected from the lander in an attempt to capture an image of its exterior, but was unable to provide the long-awaited shot.
This mission, while private, was made possible largely by funding from NASA, which commissioned Intuitive Machines to transport six scientific instruments to the Moon – a contract worth US$118 million.
Odysseus is considered a success from NASA's perspective.
Scientists have already begun examining radio waves recorded from Earth using one of the devices.
Another was unable to analyze the amount of dust rising during landing as planned, but it could still have been ignited once it reached Earth.
Odysseus is the southernmost lander that landed on the moon.
NASA wants to explore this area before sending astronauts there as part of the Artemis missions.
The Moon's south pole is of special interest to the superpowers, because it can contain large amounts of water in the form of ice. This water could be harnessed to produce fuel for spacecraft, or to support the needs of astronauts on site.
Intuitive Machines has two more lunar missions planned this year. It's all part of NASA's new CLPS program, which has tasked several companies with moving their science equipment, so they can make the trip more often and with less money than developing vehicles to do it themselves.
The US space agency also intends to stimulate the development of a lunar economy, capable of supporting a sustainable human presence on the Moon, which is one of the goals of the Artemis program.
More than 50 years after the Apollo mission, People asked
Why land on the moon? very Difficult
Steve Altemus reported. He noted several differences between previous and current missions: limited funding, tight schedule, and landing far from the equator.
We have radically transformed the economic constraints on landing on the moon
said the CEO of this young company that was founded in 2013. We have opened the door to a strong and prosperous lunar economy in the future.
“Hardcore beer fanatic. Falls down a lot. Professional coffee fan. Music ninja.”
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