Odysseus, the first US spacecraft to touch the Moon in 50 years, lost power last Thursday. This happened on the Moon, ending its main job. The landing wasn't smooth, which caused some problems. The group that made it, called Intuitive Machines, said goodbye to ship, nicknamed "Odie." Odysseus was still working on Thursday morning, so flight controllers got a final stream of data. This took a long trip of 239,000 miles to reach Earth. Odysseus will come back to life about three weeks later with the next lunar sunrise, if all goes well. When launch started, it was expected that Odysseus's battery would die about six days after reaching the Moon. Intuitive Machines' value is 20% higher than before Odysseus launched, even though their shares had big ups and downs. Odysseus is 13 feet tall, shaped like a cylinder, and was launched from Kennedy Space Center on February 15. A Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX, Elon Musk's company, was used for this mission. Odysseus landed on the Moon in a tilted way because of a last-minute snag. But despite all the troubles, data from all six scientific experiments were gathered successfully.
Odysseus, made by the Texas-based company Intuitive Machines, is a big deal because it's the first US spacecraft to land on the Moon since Apollo in 1972. Nasa paid the company $118 million to make and engineer the spacecraft. The Odysseus moon lander gave us unique data and amazing moon photos. Managed by Intuitive Machines in Houston, it started sending images after entering orbit on February 15. It tipped over when landing but still sent photos of the moon's unvisited south pole. This affected its power supply, but the lander kept working. CEO Steve Altemus says it likely lost power when the moon night began. It sent a last photo on Thursday afternoon, a February 22 shot with Earth in the distance. The message "Goodnight, Odie" was shared on X, previously Twitter. They hope to restart Odysseus in three weeks during midday when the sun is at its highest, enabling power generation. Here are some images from Odysseus’s journey to the moon, the first commercial spacecraft to reach the moon. It also marks America's first moon visit since 1972, hinting at further missions planned with NASA's Artemis program.
The Odysseus spacecraft, with $118 million worth of NASA experiments on board, signified major progress in NASA’s commercial moon delivery program. A week after a difficult landing that broke its leg near the moon's south pole, it went silent last Thursday. Flight managers downloaded one final picture from Odysseus before guiding its computer and power systems to stand down in efforts to save energy. As described by Josh Marshall from Intuitive Machines, these moves drained the ship's energy stores causing it to go into extended sleep mode. “Good night, Odie. We hope to hear from you again," was the company's message.
Despite being made for just a week's stay on the moon, the lander over-delivered. Intuitive Machines successfully brought it to the moon on February 22, making it the first such success by a private U.S. firm, and becoming part of the exclusive club of moon landers that includes Japan. Even with a last-minute navigation issue, Odysseus made it to the lunar surface last Thursday. But, it landed awkwardly, in a tilted or sideways position. That instantly made things tough for it.
Intuitive Machines' module did better than the company hoped, even with the damage that hurt its solar power and communication abilities. It also stayed operational even when tipped over. Earlier efforts by private companies weren't successful. One lander even crashed back to Earth in January. NASA sees these commercial landers as a stepping-stone towards crewed missions happening in the next few years. Before Odysseus, Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt were the last to land on the moon in 1972.
The Odysseus, the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon in 50 years, stopped working last Thursday. It did this when it entered a really cold lunar night. The spacecraft's touchdown on the moon was uneven, which made it hard to do its mission. Intuitive Machines, a Texas aerospace company who NASA paid $118 million to build and fly the Odysseus, got a last transmission before it went dark on the moon's south pole.
The Odysseus, also lovingly known as "Odie" to its engineers, was quite resilient. Intuitive Machines had planned for the spacecraft to contact their Houston ground control center if it gets enough solar power to turn on again in three weeks. But, the company said Odysseus would probably run out of battery and lose contact.
Entering an 11th hour glitch, the spacecraft eventually landed on the moon in a tilt. This hindered its operation. According to the company, human error was the cause of the glitch and the unexpected landing position. Despite these issues, some data was gathered from the Odysseus.
The Odysseus is a groundbreaker. It was the first controlled descent to the lunar surface by a U.S. spacecraft since NASA's last crewed Apollo mission in 1972. Intuitive and NASA see this mission as a new chapter of lunar exploration. Only four other countries have achieved a "soft" moon landing - the former Soviet Union, China, India and, recently, Japan. (Reported by Joey Roulette in Washington and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Edited by Andrew Heavens, Lisa Shumaker, and Lincoln Feast)
Four astronauts are training hard for the Artemis II mission - NASA's historic journey to the moon. The “blast off” is due for September 2025. Reid Wiseman, the mission leader, is excited about the mission. They've been in California, rehearsing with the US Navy. The team practiced on a raft in the Pacific Ocean and on a massive ship. This was to mimic their return from space.
These astronauts will be the first to go to the Moon since the Apollo program, over 50 years ago. The 10-day journey ends with a parachute-assisted landing in the sea. They are learning how to handle storms and tend to injuries. NASA used a life-size Orion replica for practice. It got the nickname “Darth Vader.”
The Artemis program aims to not just visit the Moon but to establish a long-term presence. Subsequent missions dream to build a base for Mars expeditions. The plan is to use lunar resources wisely. Many countries, like India, China, and Japan, have reached the Moon. China aims to send humans by 2030. This adds a little competition to NASA.
Christina Koch, a fellow Artemis II astronaut, asks if we'll lead or follow in lunar exploration. Koch, 42, plans to be the first woman on a lunar mission. Victor Glover, 47, aims to be the first black astronaut to orbit the Moon. Jeremy Hansen, 48, from Canada, will join them. The Artemis missions aim to have the first woman and black astronaut step on the lunar surface.
Apollo had 24 white men go to the Moon between 1969 and 1972. Eight of them are still alive. One of them, Thomas Stafford of Apollo 10, has been advising the Artemis II team. He passes on important insights. He hopes to see the new team launch successfully and return safely.
Social Plugin