Accident during risky landing on Earth’s moon: US lunar probe Odysseus apparently tipped on its side

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In a pre-recorded speech, NASA boss Bill Nelson, 81, spoke of a “triumph” with the landing of the Nova-C lunar probe, marking America’s return to an Earth satellite for the first time in 52 years. Nelson’s speech was broadcast at a time when the control center was struggling with communication problems with Odysseus, the nickname of the Moon lander.

It’s now clear what caused the initial communication problems and why Odysseus has yet to transmit any of the promised images of the lunar surface: According to initial findings, the US commercial lunar lander tipped over during descent and landed on its side.

Misinterpretation of data

Steve Altemus, president of private space company Intuitive Machines, said at a press conference on Friday (local time) that his company assumed Odysseus got stuck on a rock and tipped sideways during descent. Previous information that the four-meter-tall probe was standing upright was based on misinterpretation of the data.

Altemus emphasized that although Odysseus was lying on his side, he received his electricity from solar panels. Scientific experiments planned on behalf of the US space agency NASA can probably still be carried out.

Odysseus landed on the moon on Thursday. It was the first U.S. moon landing since the end of the Apollo program more than 50 years ago and the first commercial probe ever.

Dangerous landing area

The area where Odysseus landed near the Malapert A crater is about 300 kilometers from the south pole of the moon. A dangerous, cratered terrain. It was chosen because scientists believe it is rich in frozen water. This would make it easier to maintain a permanent moon base there in the future. The purpose of the mission, called IM-1, is to investigate the requirements of manned lunar missions in the region. NASA plans to take astronauts to the moon in 2026 with the Artemis program.

Odysseus has many NASA instruments on board, including cameras that are intended, among other things, to study changes to the ground caused by dust rising during descent. The probe is intended to conduct soil surveys as well as temperature and radiation measurements in the lunar crater for a week.

NASA paid Intuitive Machines $118 million (104 million Swiss francs) for the move. The mission is planned to last seven days.

I’m looking for ice cream

NASA is promoting moon flights by private companies for later use in cargo flights. With their help, he wants to equip the Moon as a stopover for future manned flights to Mars. The South Pole is a candidate for establishing a base camp on the moon because the ice there could potentially be used to produce drinking water and rocket fuel. (with AFP)

Source :Blick