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Elon Musk's SpaceX launches US' first privately-owned Moon lander, the Odysseus

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Elderberry:
FirstPost 2/16/2024

The Odysseus Moon lander, owned and operated by the startup Intuitive Machines, was successfully launched atop one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets in the early hours of the morning

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has achieved a significant milestone in space exploration by launching a privately-owned Moon lander, potentially setting a historic precedent for the United States. The Odysseus lander, owned and operated by the startup Intuitive Machines, was successfully launched atop one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets in the early hours of the morning, according to reports from Space.com.

If the mission proves successful, the Odysseus lander will become the first private lunar lander in history to safely touch down on the surface of the Moon. Additionally, it will mark the first American craft to achieve this feat since the Apollo 17 mission in late 1972 — a pivotal moment in space exploration history.

However, the success of the mission is not guaranteed, as evidenced by recent setbacks in lunar exploration efforts. Last month, the Pittsburgh-based startup Astrobotic attempted to land its own Moon lander with NASA funding but encountered a critical failure, resulting in the craft’s destruction in low-Earth orbit.

More: https://www.firstpost.com/tech/elon-musks-spacex-launches-privately-owned-odysseus-moon-lander-13735522.html

Elderberry:
Private Odysseus moon lander beams home 1st photos from space

Space.com By Mike Wall 2/17/2024

The robotic lander also recently aced a crucial engine checkout.

A pioneering moon lander has beamed home its first photos from the final frontier.

Intuitive Machines' robotic Odysseus spacecraft snapped a few selfies with Earth in the background shortly after its Feb. 15 launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — and we can all check them out.

"Intuitive Machines successfully transmitted its first IM-1 mission images to Earth on February 16, 2024. The images were captured shortly after separation from @SpaceX's second stage on Intuitive Machines' first journey to the moon under @NASA's CLPS initiative," the Houston-based company wrote Saturday (Feb. 17) in a post on X that shared four of the photos.

CLPS is the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which puts agency science instruments on private robotic moon landers like Odysseus. These instruments are designed to collect data that will aid NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a crewed base near the lunar south pole by the end of the 2020s.





More: https://www.space.com/intuitive-machines-odysseus-moon-lander-first-photos

libertybele:
Awesome!!!   :bkmk:

Timber Rattler:
Interesting name for the lander, after the Greek hero who built the Trojan Horse and then got exiled at sea for 20 years after torquing off Poseidon.

Elderberry:
IM-1 Odysseus lander closes in on Moon landing

Spaceflight Now Feb 21, 2024

Since its launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday, February 15, Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lunar lander, named Odysseus, has been making steady progress towards landing on the Moon. Less than a week after launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the lander completed a 408-second lunar orbit insertion burn, placing it in a 92 km circular orbit around the Moon.

Spaceflight Now's Will Robinson-Smith spoke with leaders at NASA and Intuitive Machines about the spacecraft and its pathway to potentially becoming the first commercial lander to safely land on the Moon. Once on the surface, it will conduct a series of science experiments on behalf of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrR91Uwwbc4

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