After a nerve-wracking landing on the lunar surface Odysseus The lander bent over on its side, ready for a nap.Intuitive Machines is preparing to power down its lunar lander, hoping hatred It may wake up once the sun shines again on its operating solar arrays.
The Houston-based company held a press conference Wednesday to provide an update on its IM-1 mission, Landing on the moon on February 22.this Odysseus The lander had some trouble reaching the lunar surface due to issues with its navigation system Finally rolled slightly. In a less than ideal location, Odysseus Can only receive sunlight on its horizontal solar panels.
“We foresee a day when solar power will not be allowed hatred Continue to send telemetry data,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said in a news release. “We will hatred Go to sleep and expect to wake him up within the next two or three weeks. “
At the press conference, Artemus expected Odysseus There are still about five hours until the power goes out. However, the lander is not designed to withstand the freezing temperatures of the lunar night, which can drop to -298 degrees Fahrenheit (-183 degrees Celsius). “We believe that when the sun rises again Odysseus, Tim Crain, chief technology officer and co-founder of Intuitive Machines, said in a news release: “The real question is, can the battery receive and deliver the power? And then the electronics in our computers and radios Whether it can withstand such deep cold, and basically not [crack] Under thermal stress? “
Although the lander is powered by solar panels currently in the path of the sun, Odysseus Keeps the light on slightly longer than the panel. When the sun returns from the east, the solar panels will start receiving light again.
Earlier this week, another awkwardly positioned lunar lander was surprisingly revived after spending a night on the moon. Japan’s SLIM lander comes back to life on SundayLying face down on the moon’s dusty surface, reestablishing contact with ground control.
if Odysseus While the lander has fulfilled its primary purpose of soft landing on the moon and delivering payloads to the lunar surface, if it does wake up it would be a cool little treat for the mission and a way to collect additional data Opportunity. “The whole idea of this mission is not to survive as long as possible on the surface,” Artemus said. “The purpose of this mission is as a reconnaissance and pilot mission, to land on the ground, collect data, and then the nighttime cold will take away the lander and it will sit there quietly for the rest of the time.”
Odysseus Its imperfect landing has already made history, becoming the first commercial lander to land on the moon. The company is still betting on its spacecraft, which has defied all odds so far.
“If we had had a laser rangefinder, we would have landed successfully,” Crane recalled. Odysseus‘Touchdown. “We’re definitely going to hit the bullseye.”
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