US moon lander Odysseus beams first IM-1 mission images

US moon lander Odysseus beams first IM-1 mission images

NEW DELHI: Odysseus, the private spacecraft launched by Houston-based company Intuitive Machines atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 15, has beamed its first pictures from the final frontier.

“Intuitive Machines successfully transmitted its first IM-1 mission images to Earth on February 16, 2024. The images were captured shortly after separation from @SpaceX’s second stage on Intuitive Machines’ first journey to the moon under @NASA’s CLPS initiative,” the aerospace company said on X.

Odysseus, also known as the Nova-C lander, is carrying six experiments and technology demonstrations from NASA, as well as six private payloads, on its ongoing IM-1 mission. These instruments will collect valuable data for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a crewed base near the lunar south pole by 2030.

Odysseus utilizes a combination of liquid methane and liquid oxygen, the same propellants used by SpaceX’s Raptor engines. These engines power the company’s Starship rocket, which is being developed for future missions to the moon and Mars.

While Odysseus is progressing well towards its destination, it is not the first CLPS effort to be launched. Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based company, launched their moon lander, Peregrine, on a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket.

Although the launch itself was successful, Peregrine encountered a fuel leak shortly after separating from the rocket’s upper stage, preventing it from reaching the moon. The spacecraft was subsequently destroyed in the Earth’s atmosphere on January 18.

, Odysseus is currently in perfect condition and maintaining communication with mission control as it approaches its destination. Intuitive Machines has scheduled the touchdown attempt for February 22.

“Intuitive Machines flight controllers successfully fired the first liquid methane and liquid oxygen engine in space, completing the IM-1 mission engine commissioning. This engine firing included a full thrust mainstage engine burn and throttle down-profile necessary to land on the moon,” the company said in an X post

(with input from agency)

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