On February 22, 2024, at 23:23 UTC, the Odysseus lander touched down on the surface of the Moon. The landing, part of Intuitive Machine’s IM-1 mission, marks the first US spacecraft to soft-land on our satellite since Apollo 17 in 1972, and the first vehicle to do so using cryogenic propellants.
The vehicle is carrying several payloads, both from the private industry and NASA. The latter is part of the Commercial Lunar Services Program (CLPS), under which NASA contracts private firms to deliver payloads to the Moon.
After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data.
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 23, 2024
Right now, we are working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface.
The celebration in mission control wasn’t immediate, however. After reaching the scheduled landing time, it took longer than expected for the lander to start communicating. Then, only a weak signal came. Nonetheless, Intuitive Machine’s teams have since been able to confirm that the lander is upright and sending data.
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The mission
Odysseus launched on a Falcon 9 on February 15, 2024. After a successful separation, there were communication issues and a longer-than-expected feedline chill time. However, they only resulted in a one-day delay of the first trajectory correction maneuver, and eventually, the engine fired nominally. After a second scheduled correction maneuver, the lander entered lunar orbit on February 21, 2024.
Mission controllers then had to troubleshoot a failure in the laser rangefinders of the lander, used for guidance in the last phases of the descent. By uploading a software patch, the lander switched from the faulty sensors to the NASA-provided Navigation Doppler Lidar experiment. While initially planned to be just a technology demonstration, it ended up being a key part of the guidance system.
The vehicle then performed Powered Descent Initiation, commencing an 11-minute burn that brought it from orbit to the surface. Odysseus descended towards the Malapert A crater, 300 km from the lunar South Pole.
The landing was autonomous, thanks to software capable of identifying terrain hazards and selecting a safe landing spot. After landing there were communication issues, but the success of the maneuver was confirmed shortly thereafter.
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The spacecraft
Odysseus is a Nova-C class lander. It is 4.3 m tall and 1.6 m in diameter, with six landing legs spanning 4.6 m. The methane and oxygen tanks that feed the VR900 engine take up most of the vehicle’s volume.
The use of cryogenic propellant is very uncommon in such a vehicle but grants higher performance. The tanks are surrounded by a hexagonal hull made of carbon composites. The structure houses solar arrays, reaction control systems, and the navigation system. The lander can carry up to 130 kg of payload.
NASA payloads focus mostly on acquiring data that will be crucial for the Artemis program. ROLSES will study the plasma and dust environment created by the solar wind, not attenuated by any atmosphere. This data will help design surface equipment and even determine the levels of electromagnetic noise that will affect other experiments.
SCALPSS monitors the dust plume thrown up by the lander’s engine and its interaction with the surface. RFMG will use antennae mounted in the lander’s tanks to precisely measure the boiloff of cryogenic propellants, helping to characterize them for use on future missions.
Commercial payloads include Eaglecam, a camera that was ejected before touchdown to film the lander, and ILO-X, which will image the galactic center and perform other astronomy from the surface of the Moon. Thermal insulation blankets will also be tested.
The team is currently at work downloading the first pictures. For sure, Odysseus demonstrated great resilience throughout the mission. Nonetheless, Intuitive Machines has already achieved a momentous feat. Odysseus should stay operational for 7 days, so let’s stay tuned hoping they produce valuable scientific results. The future also holds at least two more Nova-C class landers in 2024 and 2025.
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