The United States achieved a historic milestone by returning to the lunar surface after 50 years. Odysseus, a privately-built spacecraft, completed a nail-biting 73-minute descent from orbit, ending up in a successful touchdown near the moon’s south pole on February 22, 2024.
Celebrations followed the notable achievement in space exploration which NASA hailed as a “giant leap forward,” although the initial reports lacked confirmation regarding the status of the lander apart from the fact that it had reached its defined landing site at crater Malapert A.
However, Intuitive Machines, the Texas-based company behind Odysseus, later announced that the spacecraft was “upright and starting to send data”, signalling a promising beginning to its mission.
The statement on X said mission managers were “working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface”.
“Welcome to the moon”, said Steve Altemus, the company’s founder, as confirmation of the 5:23 PM touchdown arrived, following those 10 minutes of silence when Odysseus was temporarily out of contact.
The supposed “soft-landing”, which carried an 80% chance of success according to Altemus, held profound implications for the future of lunar exploration. It paved the way for NASA’s ambitious plans to send humans back to the moon by late 2026, marking a resurgence in American space endeavors.
Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, hailed the moment as a triumph for humanity, emphasizing the significance of Odysseus’s achievement in advancing lunar exploration.
“What a triumph. Odysseus has taken the moon. This feat is a giant leap forward for all of humanity,” Nelson said.
The absence of any U.S.-built spacecraft landing on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 added to the historical weight of the occasion.
Odysseus, affectionately nicknamed “Odie” by Intuitive Machines employees, represented a major milestone in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
The mission, supported by NASA funding and Intuitive Machines’ contributions, aims to gather crucial scientific data about the lunar environment.
Selection of carter Malapert A as landing site
The selection of crater Malapert A as the landing site holds strategic importance due to its potential abundance of frozen water, a vital resource for sustaining future lunar missions
Scientists believe that extracting water from the moon’s surface could provide a crucial refueling station for missions to Mars, amplifying the significance of Odysseus’s mission.
Despite the inherent risks involved, including the hazardous terrain and operational constraints, the mission’s objectives remained paramount.
NASA’s vision for sustained lunar exploration through initiatives like Artemis underscored the nation’s commitment to maintaining leadership in space exploration.