For the first time in over 50 years: the US space probe “Odyssey” successfully landed on the moon – News

Spacecraft “Odyssey”

Intuitive Machines

The Nova-C lander named “Odyssey” successfully landed on the Moon on February 22. It became the first private spacecraft to do so and the first American spacecraft to touch down on Earth’s satellite in more than 50 years.

According to CNN, ABC and Space News, Odyssey touched down in the south polar regions of the Moon at 6:23 PM ET as part of the IM-1 mission.

It took the controllers 15 minutes to confirm that they were receiving a signal from the lunar surface, although it was very weak at first.

“What we can confirm without a doubt is that our equipment is on the surface of the moon and we are transmitting a signal,” said Tim Crain, flight director.

It is also reported that the company that developed the spacecraft – Intuitive Machines – delayed the landing for two hours to make an additional flyby around the moon. In addition, they discovered problems in the operation of laser rangefinders – the main equipment for ensuring accurate landing.

Controllers updated the lander’s software so it could use not only its own lidar, but also an additional one from NASA, which was on board to demonstrate the technology. This made it possible to receive more information about geolocation during landing.

A navigation beacon, a radio frequency fuel tank sensor and a camera for studying the dust plumes raised by the lander engine were also installed there. Other NASA payloads included a laser retroreflector and a radio astronomy instrument.

“Essentially, it’s a basic system that helps get speed and altitude information,” said Prasun Desai, NASA’s deputy administrator for space technology.

“Odyssey” launched on February 15 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launched the device on a flight path to the Moon. Subsequently, the device performed two maneuvers to correct the trajectory and entered a low lunar orbit on February 21.

This is the first commercial landing in US history and the first landing of any American spacecraft on the Moon since the last Apollo mission in December 1972.

Steve Altemus, president and chief executive officer of Intuitive Machines, said he engraved the names of the company’s employees who participated in the event.

“I carved everyone’s names on the bottom of the landing gear so they would stay on the moon after landing.” – he said.

We previously reported that a robot surgeon performed surgery on the International Space Station for the first time.