A historic achievement for the United States, which returns to land on the moon for the first time since 1972, and the company Intuitive Machines, which seeks to prove its capabilities and serve as a supplier of equipment transfer to the moon as part of the Artemis program
Odysseus, a robotic spacecraft built by Intuitive Machines from Houston, Texas, successfully landed tonight (23:23 GMT on Thursday, 01:23 tonight - Friday Israel time) near the south pole of the moon. This landing marks a significant step for the United States, both technologically and historically.
The landing site is an area full of craters near Mount Malaparte which is 5 kilometers high. This is the southernmost point ever reached by a spacecraft, at 80 degrees south latitude.
Odysseus' landing on the moon was accompanied by tense drama when contact with the spacecraft was lost for several minutes during the final landing approach. The tension came to a head as the crews on Earth anxiously awaited a signal from the spacecraft to confirm that it had landed safely.
Odysseus is the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. Furthermore, it is also the first ever private moon landing.
After a few tense minutes the spacecraft transmitted signals indicating that it had landed successfully.
This moment marked the first time in history that a private robotic spacecraft made a successful soft landing on the moon, and it represents the next step in lunar and deep space exploration.
The mission, called Nova-C, is the first of several missions aimed at returning the United States to the moon in the coming decade. NASA's Artemis program, a partner in the venture, aims to land astronauts on the moon again in 2025, and establish a permanent human presence there. The Artemis program also includes the landing of the first woman and the first person of a minority race on the moon.
The director of NASA, Bill Nelson, welcomed the historic landing and said: "What a victory! Odysseus conquered the moon. This achievement is a giant leap forward for all of humanity. Stay tuned!”
More of the topic in Hayadan:
- Surprising presence of sulfur in the soil of the South Pole of the Moon by the Indian robotic vehicle Paragain in the Chandrayaan-3 mission
- Bacteria to produce oxygen for manned space missions to the Moon and Mars
- Hot end for Peregrine lander: Burn up in atmosphere on Thursday, 19/1/24
- Homer's Odyssey apparently recorded an ancient solar eclipse
One response
Not exactly successful
During the landing the lander overturned and fell on its side and currently half of the cameras are buried in the sand and disabled. And also the lunar vehicle that was supposed to be released from it. will not be able to do so.