Odysseus is the first American spacecraft to land on the Moon in more than half a century. This robotic lander landed in the south polar region of the Moon at 6.23 pm ET on Thursday.
Recently, after about 50 years, an American spacecraft has landed on the Moon. The name of the lander that has landed on the moon is – Odysseus Lander. It is made by Intuitive Machines of Houston. NASA had told that while landing, one leg of Moon Lander Odysseus got stuck on the Moon. Due to this it has tilted to one side. However, now the new information is that the lander has sent its first pictures from the lunar surface on Monday.
Landed in the Moon’s south polar region on Thursday
It is noteworthy that the American space agency NASA had said that one leg of its Moon Lander Odysseus got stuck on the Moon. Due to this, it tilted to one side. This news was also confirmed by Intuitive Machines, the company that built and operates the lander.
Odysseus is the first American spacecraft to land on the Moon in more than half a century. This robotic lander landed in the south polar region of the Moon at 6.23 pm ET on Thursday. But, it took several minutes for flight controllers to receive a signal from the lander’s communication signals.
In working condition
Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, said, ‘As soon as it landed, one of Odysseus’ feet got stuck on the surface. Due to this it has tilted to one side. Nevertheless, the lander is near or at our desired landing site. NASA and Intuitive Machines said on Monday that they are receiving data from the lander and believe that most of the scientific instruments on board are in working order.
Sent two pictures
The Intuitive Machines company said Odysseus sent images of the moon’s surface to its Malapert. This makes it clear that any vehicle representing the farthest south is capable of landing on the Moon and establishing communication with ground controllers. The company has shared two pictures. The first photo of a hexagon-shaped spacecraft landing and the second, taken 35 seconds after its fall, reveal the compacted soil of Malapert.
Odysseus continues to communicate with flight controllers in Nova Control from the lunar surface. After understanding the end-to-end communication requirements, Odysseus sent images from the lunar surface of its vertical descent to its Malapert A landing site, representing the… pic.twitter.com/CuCkOVvBqu
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 26, 2024
Odysseus continues to communicate with flight controllers in Nova Control from the lunar surface. After understanding the end-to-end communication requirements, Odysseus sent images from the lunar surface of its vertical descent to its Malapert A landing site, representing the… pic.twitter.com/CuCkOVvBqu
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 26, 2024
Photo of 4.0 meter long ‘Nova-C’ class lander
Let us tell you, NASA is planning to send astronauts back to the Moon at the end of this decade. For this, it has paid about 120 million dollars to the private company Intuitive Machines for the mission. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on Saturday captured an image of the 4.0-meter (13-foot) long ‘Nova-C’ class lander from a spot within 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) of its landing site.
I would give it an A minus
Astronomer and space mission specialist Jonathan McDowell said, ‘Odysseus is tilted to one side, so there was not much concern. However, this is a modest success. I would give it an A minus. Anyone would prefer to take it off straight away.
