Intuitive Machines initially reported Odysseus was standing upright. But in an update on Friday 23rd February 2024, the company reported they believe the spacecraft caught its landing gear sideways in the moon’s surface while touching down and tipped over.
Intuitive Machines’ cargo lander, Odysseus, returned its first images from the moon’s surface over the weekend.
Historic achievement
The company’s historic IM-1 mission is now operating on the moon after landing on Thursday 22nd February 2024, becoming the first privately developed spacecraft to soft land on the lunar surface.
Despite resting on its side, Odysseus is still sending back data. Intuitive Machines expects Odysseus to operate until Tuesday morning, when its solar panels will no longer be exposed to the sun.
Intuitive Machines’ stock fell 35% in trading on Monday 26th February 2024 to close down at $6.27 a share.
Artist’s impression of Intuitive Machines luna lander on the moon
A U.S. company has gone to the moon – and creates a little piece of history
Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C cargo lander, named ‘Odysseus’ after the mythological Greek hero, is the first U.S. spacecraft to soft land on the lunar surface since 1972.
Japan, India and China have all had recent successful moon mission ahead of the U.S.
Intuitive Machines is the first company to pull off a moon landing – government agencies have carried out all previously successful missions.
The company’s stock surged in extended trading Thursday, after falling 11% in regular trading.
Lander visual
Hunt for water
The targeted landing site was a cratered terrain next to a 5km-high mountain complex known as Malapert. It’s the southernmost point on the Moon ever visited by a spacecraft.
It’s on the shortlist of locations where Nasa is considering sending astronauts later this decade as part of its Artemis programme.
It is reported that there are some deep craters in this region that never see any sunlight – they’re permanently in shadow – and scientists believe frozen water could be inside them.
Art illustration on Intuitive Machines luna lander
Art illustration on Intuitive Machines luna lander
Alien dust samples from the ‘most dangerous known rock in the Solar System’ have been brought to Earth.
NASA safely landed the probe with the capsule containing the precious space dust in the West Desert of Utah state.
The samples had been collected up from the surface of asteroid Bennu in 2020 by the Osiris-Rex spacecraft.
NASA wants to learn more about the asteroid Bennu, not least because it has an outside chance of colliding with Earth in the next 300 years, but more importantly, the samples are likely to provide fresh insights into the formation of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago and possibly even how life began here on Earth.
Touchdown was confirmed at 08:52 local time (14:52 GMT), three minutes ahead of schedule.
The container holding the precious cargo screaming into the atmosphere over the U.S. at more than 27000 mph. A heatshield and parachutes slowed its descent and dropped it gently to the ground.
Eager scientists applauded the remarkable achievement and now anticipate their chance to investigate the precious cargo further. Just 300 grams of asteroid dust were returned.
That might not sound like very much, but the scientists have access to exceptional technology that will enable them to analyse ultra small particles at a very high resolution.
Osiris-Rex is a NASA mission that aims to collect and return a sample from asteroid Bennu, which is believed to be a remnant of the early solar system. The mission hopes to learn more about the origins of life on Earth and the potential for asteroid mining in the future.
Osiris-Rex stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. The spacecraft launched in 2016 and arrived at Bennu in 2018. It spent two years mapping and studying the asteroid before successfully collecting a sample of about 300 grams (10.6 ounces) of dust and rocks in October 2020.
Asteroid Bennu
Capsule
The sample capsule is now on its way back to Earth and is expected to land in Utah on September 24, 2023. Scientists are eager to analyze the material and look for clues about how the solar system formed and how organic molecules that are essential for life were delivered to Earth.
Osiris-Rex is also planning an extended mission to visit another near-Earth asteroid called Apophis in 2029. Apophis is considered a potentially hazardous asteroid because it has a small chance of hitting Earth in the future. Osiris-Rex will observe and measure Apophis to improve our understanding of its orbit and characteristics.
Nasa’s Osiris-Rex capsule will come screaming into Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday 24th September 2023 at more than 15 times the speed of a bullet.
It will make a fireball in the sky but a heat shield will protect the craft. Parachutes will then deploy to slow the descent and bring it to a gentle touchdown in Utah’s West Desert.
Bringing with it a special space cargo that may help the human race discover the origin of life.
NASA has recently released a report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), which is another term for UFOs. The report is based on a yearlong study of hundreds of UAP sightings by scientists and data experts.
In brief
NASA found no evidence that aliens are behind the UAPs, but it also could not rule out the possibility. The report said that some of the objects must have travelled through our solar system to get here.
NASA said that the study of UAPs will require new scientific techniques, including advanced satellites and artificial intelligence. The agency also announced a new director of UAP research to establish a robust database and analysis process.
NASA said that UAPs are important for national security and air safety, as some of them pose potential threats to aircraft and military operations. The agency also said that it will share data and findings with more transparency and collaboration.
NASA said that many UAP sightings can be explained by natural phenomena, human-made objects, or sensor errors, but some remain unexplained and anomalous. The report estimated that only about 2% to 5% of the total database are thought to be truly anomalous.
Japan launched a rocket on 7th September 2023 carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe and a small lunar lander.
The launch of the HII-A rocket from Tanegashima Space Centre in southwestern Japan was shown live by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Thirteen minutes after the launch, the rocket put into orbit around Earth a satellite called the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, or XRISM, which will measure the speed and makeup of what lies between galaxies.
That information helps in studying how celestial objects were formed, and hopefully can lead to solving the mystery of how the universe was created, JAXA reports.
In cooperation with NASA, JAXA will look at the strength of light at different wavelengths, the temperature of things in space and their shapes and brightness.
Smart
Also aboard the Japanese rocket is the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, a lightweight lunar lander. The Smart Lander reportedly won’t make lunar orbit for three or four months after the launch and would likely attempt a landing early 2024, according to the space agency.
Japan launched a rocket on 6th September 2023 carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe and a small lunar lander.
Going to the moon has fascinated humankind for decades. Under the U.S. Apollo program, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon in 1969.
Only four nations have successfully landed on the moon, the U.S., Russia, China and India.
Inspirational achievement, as India becomes only the fourth country in the world to successfully land on the moon and the first at the south pole
India became a new national superpower in space on 23rd August 2023, landing its Chandrayaan-3 mission safely on the moon’s unexplored south pole. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft launched last month and touch downed on the lunar surface around 13:34 GMT.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft launched last month and touch downed on the lunar surface around 13:34 GMT. The feat makes India the fourth country, after Russia, the U.S. and China – to land on the moon, and the first to land on one of the moon’s lunar poles.
South pole is the place to explore
The lunar south pole has emerged as a place of recent exploration interest thanks to recent discoveries about traces of water ice on the moon. India previously attempted a lunar south pole landing in September 2019, but a software failure caused the Chandrayaan-2 mission to crash into the surface.
The south pole is the place to be right now as it is such a very interesting, historical, scientific and geologic area that a lot of countries are trying to get at that can serve as a base for future exploration.
The discovery of water on the south pole of the moon is important for future exploration, as it could serve as a source of fuel for rockets and spacecraft.
Days prior to Chandrayaan-3′s scheduled landing, Russia attempted to land its first spacecraft on the moon in almost 50 years. But the Luna-25 mission crashed into the lunar surface on Saturday, with Russian space agency Roscosmos confirming the spacecraft spun out of control.
To infinity and beyond
During a June visit from India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he signed agreements alongside President Joe Biden to join the Artemis Accords and further collaborate on missions between Indian Space Research Organisation – ISRO and NASA. Next year, the space agencies are expected to work together to fly Indian astronauts to the International Space Station.
No looking back! India becomes only 4th country in the world to land on the moon’s south pole August 23rd 2023
India has also done more with less than its top global counterparts, with ISRO’s annual budget a fraction of NASA’s. In 2020, ISRO estimated the Chandrayaan-3 mission would cost about $75 million. The Covid pandemic delayed the Chandrayaan-3 mission from launching in 2021.
The lander – called Vikram after Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) founder Vikram Sarabhai – carries within its belly the 26kg rover named Pragyaan, the Sanskrit word for wisdom.
One of the mission’s major goals is to hunt for water-based ice, which scientists say could support human habitation on the Moon in future and allow for easier future space exploration.
