Moon: Odysseus releases image of moments before landing – 02/26/2024 – Science

The American company Intuitive Machines released an image of its Odysseus probe approaching its landing site on the Moon. However, images taken by the probe already touching the Moon have not yet been released.

The image released was taken approximately 35 seconds after a maneuver to change the angle of the probe in relation to the lunar soil.

Another image, this time recorded by a NASA camera, confirmed the landing site of the American probe, within 1.5 km of its intended landing site in the lunar crater Malapert A.

The unmanned spacecraft, which is more than four meters tall, landed at 8:23 pm Brasília time on Thursday (22), becoming the first private company to land on the Moon and marking the return of the United States to the satellite natural on Earth after more than 50 years.

But a series of setbacks, including a failure in its navigation system, complicated the final descent and the probe ended up on its side instead of remaining upright on the lunar soil.

“Odysseus continues to communicate from the lunar surface with flight controllers,” Intuitive Machines said on Monday (26).

The spacecraft carries scientific instruments from NASA, which seeks to explore the moon’s south pole before sending astronauts on its emblematic Artemis mission.

The American space agency began assigning this service to private companies, a strategy that aims to allow more frequent and lower-cost travel, in addition to promoting the development of a lunar economy capable of sustaining a lasting human presence on the Moon, one of the objectives of the program Artemis.

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell told AFP that although “there are certainly things to be resolved for future missions”, the NASA project is heading in the right direction. It is a “success with small drawbacks”, commented the space mission expert.

With AFP