Steve Gorman and Joey Roulette
(Reuters) – The lunar lander, dubbed Odyssey, is “alive and well” but lying on its side a day after landing, becoming the first privately owned spacecraft ever to reach the lunar surface and the first from the United States since 1972. The company behind the car announced this on Friday.
The CEO of Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which built and operated the lander, said the craft is believed to have caught one of its six landing legs on the lunar surface during its final descent, flipped over and came to rest on its side. on the stone.
However, CEO Stephen Altemus said Odysseus is “stable near or at its intended landing site” near a crater called Malapert A near the moon’s south pole.
“We have communication with the lander” and transmitting commands to the craft, Altemus said, adding that teams are working to obtain the first photographic images from the lunar surface at the landing site.
A brief mission status update posted on the company’s website earlier Friday described Odysseus as “alive and well.”
Shortly after Thursday’s landing, the company said radio signals indicated Odysseus landed upright, but Atlemus said the erroneous conclusion was based on telemetry received before the landing.
Intuitive Machines mission director Tim Crane said the spacecraft, which is the first in space to burn propulsion fuel from liquid methane and liquid oxygen, “performed flawlessly” during its flight to the moon.
Altemus said the spacecraft is charging properly using solar energy and is 100% charged.
The six-legged, unmanned robotic spacecraft reached the lunar surface on Thursday after a difficult final approach and descent during which a problem with the lander’s navigation system occurred, requiring engineers on the ground to take an untested workaround at the 11th hour. .
It also took some time after an expected radio blackout to reestablish contact with the spacecraft and determine its fate some 239,000 miles (384,000 km) from Earth.
When contact was finally resumed, the signal was weak, confirming the lander had touched down but immediately leaving mission control uncertain about the craft’s exact status and position, company officials said during a webcast of the event Thursday evening.
The lander is conducting a series of scientific experiments for NASA and several commercial clients, designed to operate for seven days on solar power before the sun sets over the polar landing site.
Shares of Houston-based Intuitive Machines fell 27% in after-hours trading Friday after shares jumped 21% before the close.