Odysseus, a spacecraft developed and operated by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines, successfully landed near the south pole of the moon on Thursday. This marks the first time in over fifty years that the United States has touched down on the lunar surface, and notably, it’s the first entirely private-sector achievement of its kind.
The six-legged robotic lander, named Odysseus, made its touchdown at approximately 6:23 p.m. EST (2323 GMT), as announced by both the company and NASA commentators during a joint webcast from Intuitive Machines’ mission operations center in Houston.
According to the webcast, the spacecraft was intended to land at a designated crater called Malapert A near the moon’s south pole, and it appears to have done so as planned.
Confirmation of the landing came one day after the spacecraft entered lunar orbit, following its launch from Florida a week prior. Signals transmitted back over a distance of approximately 239,000 miles (384,000 km) to mission control confirmed the successful touchdown.
However, there was a delay in re-establishing communication with the vehicle, and the initial signal received was faint. This left mission control unsure of the exact condition and position of the lander, as reported by flight controllers during the webcast.
It’s important to note that the spacecraft was not equipped to provide live video coverage of the event.
The touchdown occurred following a last-minute glitch with the spacecraft’s autonomous navigation system, prompting ground engineers to implement a workaround solution.
Equipped with a variety of scientific instruments and technology demonstrations for both NASA and multiple commercial customers, the vehicle is designed to operate for seven days using solar energy before the sun sets over the polar landing site.
The NASA payload will focus on gathering data on space weather interactions with the lunar surface, radio astronomy, and other aspects of the lunar environment essential for future landers and NASA’s planned return of astronauts later in the decade.
The uncrewed IM-1 mission commenced its journey to the moon on Wednesday, riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Thursday’s landing marks the first controlled descent to the lunar surface by a U.S. spacecraft since Apollo 17 in 1972. This historic event recalls NASA’s last crewed moon mission, which touched down with astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt.
Until now, only spacecraft from four other countries – the former Soviet Union, China, India, and most recently, Japan last month – have successfully landed on the moon. The United States remains the sole nation to have achieved the feat of sending humans to the lunar surface.
DAWN OF ARTEMIS
Odysseus’ arrival also signifies the inaugural “soft landing” on the moon by a commercially manufactured and operated vehicle, marking a significant milestone under NASA’s Artemis lunar program. This achievement is particularly timely as the United States endeavors to return astronauts to Earth’s natural satellite before China accomplishes its own crewed spacecraft landing there.
As part of its long-term, sustained lunar exploration efforts and as a stepping stone toward eventual human flights to Mars, NASA targets landing its first crewed Artemis mission in late 2026. The initiative prioritizes the moon’s south pole, primarily due to the presumed abundance of frozen water, which can be utilized for life support systems and the production of rocket fuel.
Numerous small landers similar to Odysseus are anticipated to lead the path under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. This initiative is crafted to transport instruments and hardware to the moon at reduced costs compared to the traditional approach of NASA constructing and launching its own vehicles.
However, placing greater reliance on smaller, less seasoned private ventures entails its own set of risks.
In the previous month, the lunar lander of another company, Astrobotic Technology, encountered a propulsion system leak en route to the moon. This incident occurred shortly after the lander was placed in orbit on January 8 by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket, which was making its inaugural flight.
The malfunction of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander marked the third unsuccessful attempt by a private company to achieve a lunar touchdown, following similar ill-fated efforts by companies from Israel and Japan.
While Odysseus shines as the newest standout in NASA’s CLPS program, the IM-1 flight is attributed to Intuitive Machines as their mission. The company, co-founded in 2013 by Stephen Altemus, former deputy director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and now serving as the company’s president and CEO, spearheads this endeavor.
The surge in commercial space ventures is itself propelled by significant technological advancements in recent decades.
The Apollo program and the robotic lunar Surveyor missions that preceded it operated at the outset of the computer age, predating the emergence of modern microchips, electronic sensors, and software. Additionally, these missions occurred before the development of super lightweight metal alloys and numerous other advancements that have catalyzed a revolution in spaceflight.
