Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus Achieves First Landing for CLPS
On Thursday, February 22nd, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander Odysseus successfully touched down on the Moon, achieving the “ultimate milestone” for the IM-1 mission and marking the first major victory for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. After Powered Descent Initiation occurred at 5:11 PM CST, Odysseus’s main engine fired for approximately eleven minutes, bringing the vehicle down for a soft landing on the lunar highlands at 5:23 CST. Despite a slight pointing error which delayed acquisition of signal, the lander was confirmed to be on the surface and transmitting a few minutes after touchdown. At a press conference on February 23rd, Intuitive Machines CEO Stephen Altemus reported that the team currently believes the lander to be lying on its side, but otherwise intact. Odysseus is the first American spacecraft to have safely landed on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, and the first to do so near the lunar South Pole.
Published by Space Scout on 02/23/2024
