A new photo of Odysseus released by NASA illustrates this point How difficult is the lander’s journey to the moon? All the while, it has demonstrated its tenacity to overcome all odds.
This photo, taken on February 22, the day the lander landed on the moon, shows Odysseus (affectionately known as “Odie”) with an apparently broken leg on the lunar surface. While the photo may not look very encouraging, Intuition Machine explains that a perfect storm of events managed to work in Odie’s favor. Not only did Odysseus’ legs absorb the shock of landing, but its liquid methane and liquid oxygen engines happened to still be throttling, which provided stability to the lander.
“Here’s a picture of Audi landing on the lunar surface with its engines firing. You [can see] “The landing gear does what it’s supposed to do and protects[ed] When the lander touches down on the ground. “
Such an unstable landing does affect Odysseus, though. The sides of the lander are slightly tilted, Affects the charging ability of its solar panels. In its current location, Odysseus only receives sunlight through its horizontal solar panels. Intuitive Machines estimated the lander had only about 10 to 20 hours of power left Tuesday.
The company will continue to put Odysseus to sleep for now and plans to wake it up during midday in about three weeks, when the lander’s solar panels will start receiving sunlight again.
However, when the intuition machine wakes Odysseus from his nap, it is unclear whether Odysseus will wake up. Officials explained that the lander and its electronics were not designed to withstand the cold nights on the moon, where temperatures can drop to -298 degrees Fahrenheit (-183 degrees Celsius).
Even if Odysseus does not wake up, the mission is considered a success.Intuitive machines become First private company in history to achieve a soft landing Landing on the moon marked the first time the United States had returned to the lunar surface since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Waking Odysseus would be an added treat.
In a way, Odysseus also brought the Apollo missions back to the moon.The lander is decorated with A patch of a small American flagOriginally prepared for future Apollo missions in the 1970s, they never materialized. NASA donated this flag to Odysseus.
“This is certified flight hardware. We took up the American flag, proudly hung it on the Odysseus and went to the moon, just like we should have done 52 years ago,” Intuitive Machines CEO Officer Artemus said. “I’m really proud of that.”
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