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Image source, Intuitive machines
- author, Drafting
- Role, BBC World News
These were the words of Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, following the successful landing of the Odysseus lunar module.
The spacecraft, also called the Nova-C lander, Our satellite landed on Thursday A week after its release.
“Houston, Odysseus has found her new home,” Tim Crane, the company's chief technology officer, responded as operators celebrated in the control tower.
From there, the operation was broadcast live, although communication was lost in the last seconds before landing and it is believed that it failed.
Image source, Getty Images
Intuitive Machines employees exploded with joy when the mission was confirmed successful.
Historic landing on the moon
It's about The first ship developed by a private company Which landed on the moon and was also the first American to do so in more than 50 years, since the famous Apollo program and its last mission: Apollo 17 in 1972.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson described this achievement as “a giant leap for all of humanity,” imitating the words of Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon in 1969.
Image source, Getty Images
Neil Armstrong, aboard Apollo 11, was the first man to set foot on the moon.
Odysseus was launched into space on February 9 aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket and over the following days He traveled nearly a million kilometres Until reaching the orbit of the moon.
Before landing on the moon, the exact time the ship landed had to be adjusted several times.
It fell near a crater called Malabert A, located in the area Antarctica From the satellite.
Landing on the moon at that specific location represented a major technical challenge, given the complexity of landing maneuvers and the precision required to land in an area of scientific interest.
The Moon's south polar region has long been a focus of scientists' interest, where frozen water is thought to abound in permanently shadowed craters.
A historic moment despite doubts
Image source, Getty Images
There were tense moments while waiting for Odysseus' signal.
Analysis by Jonathan Amos, BBC science correspondent
We have just witnessed an important moment, not only for the commercial exploitation of space, but for the American space program in general.
Intuitive Machines ended the United States' half-century of absence from the moon. Since the last Apollo mission, no American team has made a soft landing on lunar soil.
There's no one on board the Odysseus space module – it's just a robot – but its planned scientific investigations make it a voyage for the return of astronauts later this decade.
Image source, Reuters
Odysseus one day before landing on the moon.
The question we ask ourselves now is: What state has this situation become?
Apparently it landed softly enough to send it back to Earth, but the Intuitive Machines' controllers aren't as clear as they were hoping for… at least not yet.
In the next few hours, as engineers work to understand the signals coming from the moon, an image of the ship's condition will emerge.
Remember, we had to wait a few hours before JAXA could tell us that its Slim lander was safe, albeit in a critical condition.
Odysseus may also find himself in an awkward situation.
But don't underestimate what just happened. The United States returns to the moon.
Odysseus's double mission
NASA paid 118 million US dollars To intuitive machines to carry out the process.
Odysseus will operate for a maximum of seven Earth days, the length of a lunar day before running out of power due to nightfall on the satellite.
Image source, Getty Images
Only the United States, the former Soviet Union, China, India and Japan have landed spacecraft on the moon.
The unit is carried to the moon NASA scientific instruments and commercial merchandise.
The first will be used to conduct scientific research on the Moon's surface, especially in the south polar region, which could provide valuable information about the Moon's geology, soil composition and radiation environment, among other aspects.
They will also allow Testing new technologies in the lunar environmentFrom landings to scientific instruments and navigation systems, which will pave the way for future human and robotic exploration missions.
Furthermore, the mission seeks to lay the foundation for the transport and deployment of commercial customer payloads, which could include communications technology, special scientific experiments, and even cultural or promotional devices.
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