US spacecraft Odysseus tips over, falls sideways after dramatic landing

The corporation that developed the first American spaceship to land on the Moon since the Apollo era stated on Friday that it is likely lying sideways after its spectacular landing, even as ground controllers attempt to download data and surface images from the unmanned robot.

At 6:23 p.m. Eastern Time (2323 GMT) on Thursday, the Odysseus spacecraft touched down close to the lunar south pole. The final descent was tense, requiring ground crews to switch to a backup guidance system and taking several minutes to establish radio communication after the lander came to rest.

The business behind this historic first-ever private lunar landing, Intuitive Machines, first claimed on social media that its hexagonal spaceship was upright. However, CEO Steve Altemus informed reporters on Friday that this claim was based on incorrect data.

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Rather, it looks as though it caught a foot on the surface and toppled over, landing horizontally with its top resting on a small rock. This took away some of the glory from what was mostly heralded as a historic accomplishment.

Over the weekend, a NASA mission known as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter should be able to take pictures of Odysseus, which will aid in determining its precise location.

Antennas facing downward that “are unusable for transmission back to Earth – and so that really is a limiter in our ability to communicate and get the right data down so we get everything we need for the science experiments on board,” according to Altemus, were impeding the team’s ability to download data from the science experiments on board, even though solar arrays were on the top-facing side.

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The “EagleCam” device’s manufacturer, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, claims that due to difficulties with the landing, it was decided not to launch an external camera to record the descent in real time.

However, the group will still make an effort to launch it from the ground in an effort to capture an exterior photo of Odysseus.

The Odysseus is regarded as the first successful mission of a new series of NASA-funded lunar landers intended to conduct scientific studies that will prepare the way for American humans to return to the Moon later this decade as part of the Artemis program.

Highlighting the technical difficulties, ground engineers had to improvise a solution after Intuitive Machines’ own navigation system malfunctioned. They hurriedly wrote a software patch to switch to an experimental NASA laser guidance system, which was only supposed to be used as a technology demonstration.

Later, Altemus disclosed that someone had overlooked flipping a safety switch prior to takeoff, which prevented Odysseus’s own laser system from activating. He called this “an oversight on our part.”

The spaceship was meant to land and be confirmed in a matter of seconds, but it took almost fifteen minutes for a faint signal to be caught, indicating that the mission had been accomplished and the spaceship was still intact.

Under an initiative that outsources cargo services to the private sector in an effort to save money and promote a broader lunar economy, NASA paid Intuitive Machines $118 million to carry six experiments.

In addition, Odysseus transports goods for individual clients, like as a reflective heat cover made by Columbia Sportswear that shields the spacecraft’s cryogenic propulsion tank.

In addition to gathering ice for drinking water and rocket fuel for future onward trips to Mars, the United States and its international allies hope to establish permanent settlements on the south pole.

NASA’s Artemis program intends for the first crewed landing to occur no later than 2026. In the meantime, China intends to launch a new era of space competition in 2030 by landing its first crew on the Moon.

This was the private sector’s fourth attempt at a soft lunar landing. By landing on the moon, Intuitive Machines becomes a member of an exclusive club that includes the national space agencies of the US, China, India, Japan, and the Soviet Union.

(With agency inputs)