US private spacecraft attempts to land on the Moon; follow live – 02/22/2024 – Mensageiro Sideral

After a journey of almost eight days, the Odysseus module, from the company Intuitive Machines, from Houston, Texas, is preparing to make a soft landing on the Moon. If successful, it will be the first successful landing by a private spacecraft and the first conducted by the USA since Apollo 17, in December 1972. Landing is expected at 8:24 pm (Brasília time). Follow live with Mensageiro Sideral.

So far, only space agencies have had successful landings, and only those from five countries: Russia (then the Soviet Union), USA, China, India and Japan.

If successful, the landing will be the closest to the lunar south pole ever made, beating the milestone set by the Indian Chandrayaan-3 mission, which last year descended to a latitude of 78 degrees south. Odysseus targets the Malapert A crater, just 300 km from the South Pole.

There is great ambition in exploring this region of the Moon, due to the detection of water inside craters where sunlight never reaches. By the way, the IM-1 target is very close to one of the potential landing sites for the Artemis 3 manned mission, with which the Americans hope to resume exploring the Moon with astronauts later this decade. Likewise, the Chinese have plans to begin manned lunar flights by the end of the decade and establish a base at the South Pole.

Odysseus, a Nova-C class module, developed by Intuitive Machines, transports six NASA instruments to the lunar surface, at a cost of US$118 million.

They consist of a radio system that will measure astronomical sources and the plasma environment in the lunar exosphere (the ultra-tenuous, practically zero atmosphere of the satellite), a retroreflector (a passive instrument for measuring the distance to the Moon with a laser), a device for measure speed and distance from the ground, a stereo camera to observe effects of the propellant plume on the ground during landing, a radio relay for location and a fuel gauge available.

Cargo dispatched by private entities is also on board, ranging from thermal covers to sculptures, passing through a camera to be ejected and photograph the landing in perspective.

The mission began in the early hours of February 15, with the launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, propelling the Odysseus on a translunar trajectory. The objective was to reach the Moon quickly due to an innovation in the project: the use of an engine powered by cryogenic methane and oxygen. It guarantees greater power due to the amount of fuel available, but it also carries the risk of the phenomenon known as “boil-off”, in which the propellants gradually evaporate and escape from the tanks, which empty more quickly.

Judging by Intuitive Machines’ daily reports, performance was impeccable. Apart from a short delay in cooling the liquid oxygen injection lines in space, compared to performance on Earth, the engine commissioning maneuvers went very well. Its first shot into space took place on the 16th, testing both its full strength and a reduced thrust, which would be necessary for the lunar landing.

On Sunday (18) and Tuesday (20), two trajectory correction maneuvers were carried out, with such precision that they did not require a planned third. On Wednesday (21), a major challenge was overcome, with the burn that allowed lunar orbital insertion. Odysseus then established itself on a circular trajectory around the Moon at an altitude of 92 km.

The spacecraft sent images directly from the Moon’s orbit and will begin its descent procedure at 6:11 pm.

With the size of a traditional British telephone booth and 675 kg, if Odysseus manages to land, it must operate its instruments on lunar soil for about a week, before ending the mission.

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