One giant tumble for mankind! NASA confirms $118 million Odysseus lunar aircraft has TIPPED OVER onto its side after failed landing on the moon
- Odysseus is believed to be laying horizontal on the lunar surface after landing
- Intuitive Machines said the 'soft landing' was based on old data
By
STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and
REUTERS
PUBLISHED: 17:36 EST, 23 February 2024 | UPDATED: 18:27 EST, 23 February 2024
NASA has confirmed that the first private owned spacecraft to land on the moon has 'tipped over on its side' - but is 'alive and well.'
Intuitive Machines had previously received data that its $118 million Odysseus was standing with its six feet on the ground, but updates reveled the lander is laying on the lunar landscape.
The company noted one of the legs became caught, causing it to fall onto its side - just one day after a white-knuckle touchdown that was confirmed as a soft landing.
CEO Steve Altemus explained he and his team were not deliberately misleading the public when they shared on X about America's return to the lunar surface - they were just 'working with old telemetry.'
Intuitive Machines had previously received data that Odysseus was standing with its six feet on the ground, but updates reveled the lander is laying on the lunar landscape. The company held a press conference and used a model to show the craft's position.
Odysseus is believed to be getting solar power, but laying on its side is hindering radio transmission.
Altemus explained in a press conference that the craft's foot caught the surface while moving sideways, resulting in the lander tipping onto a rock.
The majority of the payloads are in view, allowing each to collect science.
'We are hopeful the top deck solar array is not damaged and that the sun comes around the lander to get some power,' said Altemus, as he used a model to show Odysseus' position on the moon.
He continued to explain in the press conference that Odysseus has much of its operating abilities regardless of being tipped over.
NASA has confirmed that the first private owned spacecraft to land on the moon has 'tipped over on its side' (stock)
Intuitive Machines and NASA employees celebrate as the Odysseus lander made the first successful American moon landing in over 50 years. But it was not revealed until the next day that the craft had fallen over
'We do have communications with the lander' and sending commands to the vehicle, Altemus said, adding that teams were working to obtain the first photo images from the lunar surface at the landing site.
A brief update on the mission's status posted to the company's website earlier on Friday described Odysseus 'alive and well.'
The company had said shortly after touchdown on Thursday that radio signals indicated Odysseus had landed in an upright position, but Atlemus said that faulty conclusion was based on telemetry from before the landing.
Intuitive Machines mission director Tim Crain said the spacecraft, burning a propulsion fuel of liquid methane and liquid oxygen for the first time in space, 'performed flawlessly' during its flight to the moon.
This image provided by Intuitive Machines shows its Odysseus lunar lander over the near side of the moon following lunar orbit insertion on Wednesday
The six-legged robot lander touched down at 5:30pm ET Thursday at a crater called Malapert A (pictured) near the moon's south pole
The six-legged, uncrewed robot spacecraft reached the lunar surface on Thursday after a nail-biting final approach and descent in which a problem surfaced with the lander's navigation system, requiring engineers on the ground to employ an untested work-around at the eleventh hour.
It also took some time after an anticipated radio blackout to re-establish communications with the spacecraft and determine its fate some 239,000 miles (384,000 km) from Earth.
When contact was finally renewed, the signal was faint, confirming that the lander had touched down.
However, the faint signal left mission control uncertain as to the precise condition and position of the vehicle.
Odysseus was partly funded by NASA who paid to put scientific equipment aboard but also carried a number of other objects including 125 miniature sculptures by Jeff Koons
Neither NASA or Intuitive Machines have shared the next steps for Odysseus.
Odysseus launched last week aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
As it moved into the final stages of the operation, the craft's handlers discovered that the laser range-finders were not working.
This vital system is what allows the craft to determine how far it is above the lunar surface and can make the difference between a soft landing and a crash.
Using a last-minute software patch the engineers were able to convert NASA's experimental Navigation Doppler Lidar, which was being carried in the payload, to take on the job.
At 6:11pm EST, Odysseus fired its engine for the crucial 11-minute burn, decelerating from 4,000mph (6,500kph) to just 2.2mph (3.5kph), 33ft above the surface. Having slowed its fall, Odysseus was believed to have landed safely on the rim of the giant Malapert A crater about 190 miles (300km) north of the moon's South Pole. After 15 tense minutes, the crew back on Earth finally received the lander's signal, confirming what they thought had been a success.
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