Odysseus, the robotic lunar lander, not to be mistaken with the mythological Greek hero, safely landed on the surface of the moon on Thursday, February 22, 2024. If you are a space geek, this is the most exciting news that you have heard in a while. If not, I am certain that you can still appreciate and get excited about humans pushing the boundaries of exploration and reaching new heights. Either way, the news about the modern-day hero, Odysseus, launched by a private company, Intuitive Machines, on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket, has given everyone something to look forward to, as we will certainly follow its unique, legendary journey through the moon’s uncharted terrains, in the coming days.
The very first moon landing was on September 13, 1959, when Russia successfully landed an unmanned spacecraft named Luna 2 on the moon, after Luna 1 had previously missed the moon by about 3700 miles. This was followed by the successful landing of Apollo 11, the first spacecraft carrying American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on July 20, 1969, which also marked the first-ever human walking on the moon, when Armstrong stepped out of the spacecraft and onto the moon’s surface. After Apollo 11, there were an additional six crewed landings on the moon, with the US putting 12 astronauts on the moon in addition to other unmanned spacecraft landings up until 1972. Since then, the space program has turned its focus on other goals, such as prioritizing the development of a space shuttle. Instead, many private companies have attempted to land spacecraft on the moon, but none have been successful until yesterday when Intuitive Machines was able to land Odysseus on the moon’s “Malapert-A” crater. Odysseus’s journey was smooth, except for a few tense hours when it was discovered that its laser rangefinders, responsible for the determination of its altitude and horizontal velocity, were not working as expected. The team of landers at Intuitive Machines worked alongside NASA experts to problem solve and were able to quickly design a software patch and transmit it to Odysseus to fix the issue. The mission was deemed successful after a tense 15 minutes where all contact with the aircraft was lost but fortunately reestablished, with the company confirming Odysseus’s safe landing and beginning of its data transmission.
Given the technological advancements of recent years, it is safe to assume that Odysseus’s journey will be a different one compared to the spacecraft of the 1960s and 70s. Indeed, Odysseus is equipped with state of the art instruments and cutting-edge technology that makes it possible to maneuver the moon’s rugged terrains with precision, in order to obtain high-resolution images and collect valuable data. Odysseus is not designed to withstand the bitterly cold temperatures of lunar nights. Therefore, if all goes as planned, the spacecraft will work for 7 straight Earth days before the sun goes down on that part of the moon. As Odysseus embarks on this unknown journey, one thing is for sure: similar to Homer’s mythological hero, after whom it is named, the spacecraft will certainly face plenty of unforeseen challenges as it navigates an unknown land. We can’t wait to see what it discovers and how it will add to our body of knowledge regarding the moon.
