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Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 lander, also called Odysseus or “Odie,” is on the moon’s surface after experiencing unexpected problems hours before landing.
“I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface and we are broadcasting,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus announced during a live webcast. “Welcome to the moon.”
The company was able to confirm that Odysseus had made contact with the lunar surface and that mission control received a signal from the spacecraft shortly after landing. But its condition was not known until more than two hours later.
“After resolving communications issues, flight controllers confirmed that Odysseus is upright and beginning to transmit data. We are currently working on downlinking the first images of the moon’s surface,” said An company update on Xformerly known as Twitter.
The landing is historic, marking the first commercial spacecraft to soft-land on the moon and the first American-made vehicle to land on the lunar surface since the Apollo program ended more than fifty years ago. This mission is of great importance to Intuitive Machines’ main customer, NASA, which wants to explore the moon using robotic explorers developed by private contractors before sending astronauts there later this decade through its Artemis program.
“Today, the United States returned to the moon for the first time in more than half a century,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA’s commercial partnerships. Congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring quest.”
Odysseus touched down at 6:24 p.m. ET on Thursday after using his onboard methane-powered engine to propel himself toward the crater’s surface and quickly reduce his speed by 4,000 miles per hour (1,800 meters per second).
A few hours before landing, an apparent problem with Odysseus’ navigation systems forced the lander to rely on experimental technology, resulting in a “dynamic situation,” according to Gary Jordan, a NASA communications manager.
“Intuitive Machines has made the decision to reassign Odysseus’ primary navigation sensors… to use the sensors on NASA’s Navigation Doppler Lidar,” the webcast said.
The Lidar payload is an experimental technology that aimed to test how future landers would make more accurate landings on the moon. It is designed to shoot laser beams at the ground to provide precise measurements of the speed and direction of flight, said Farzin Amzajerdian, NASA’s principal investigator on the instrument.
With his landing legs and sensors aimed at the lunar terrain, Odysseus relied on the Lidar payload to find a safe landing spot.
The IM-1 mission comes amid a renewed international attack on the lunar surface. Since the end of the Soviet American space race of the 20th century, China, India and Japan have all landed spacecraft on the moon – with the latter two making their first touchdowns in the past six months.
The phone booth-sized lander spent the past week in space, traveling about 1 million kilometers through the void before launching itself into lunar orbit on Wednesday morning. Below is a model of the spacecraft.
What Odysseus brings to the moon
Intuitive Machines wants to land Odysseus near Malapert A, an impact crater near the moon’s south pole – an area characterized by treacherous and rocky terrain.
Malapert A is a region that is relatively flat compared to its surroundings, according to NASA. And the location is strategic: the South Pole is of broad international importance because it is believed to hold water ice reserves that could be turned into drinking water or even rocket fuel for future missions.
On board Odysseus are six scientific payloads designed at different NASA laboratories and expected to operate on the lunar surface for up to seven days.
“The NASA payloads will focus on demonstrating communications, navigation and precision landing technologies, and collecting scientific data on rocket plume and lunar surface interactions, as well as space weather and lunar surface interactions that impact radio astronomy,” the space agency said.
There are also cargoes from the commercial sector on board. They include insulation material developed by Columbia Sportswear, designed to protect Odysseus from the harsh temperatures on the moon, and commemorative loads such as a sculpture of the moon phases designed in consultation with artist Jeff Koons.
In addition, a camera is along for the ride, developed by students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. The device would jump off the lander and take a selfie of Odysseus. These images are expected around three hours after landing, although other snapshots may be shared sooner.
After a week, the lunar night will envelop the landing zone in darkness, plunging the spacecraft into bone-chilling cold. The dramatic temperature changes will be difficult, likely rendering the vehicle unusable.
The chances of success
This mission comes after another commercial NASA partner, Astrobotic Technology, rejected its attempt to land on the moon last month. Due to a critical fuel leak, the Peregrine lander did not have enough gas to reach the surface.
“We’re going a thousand times further (into space) than the International Space Station,” Altemus said. “Then we fly to an orbiting body that has no atmosphere to slow down (the spacecraft). …It all has to be done with a propulsion system. And we do it autonomously or robotically, without human intervention.”
The US is eager to regain a presence on the moon as NASA aims to conduct robotic science missions, learning more about the lunar environment through private partners as it focuses on preparing to land astronauts on the moon. The space agency is targeting 2026 for the first manned mission back to the surface.
The Artemis program has already been delayed. Altemus said he envisions that companies like Intuitive Machines — operating under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, initiative — could bolster the U.S. lunar effort if astronaut missions face further schedule setbacks, especially competition from China.
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