New York: Odysseus, the inaugural US spacecraft to grace the moon’s surface since 1972, finds itself approaching the twilight of its fifth day on the lunar landscape. Yet, as it valiantly soldiers on, its battery teeters on the brink of exhaustion, with flight controllers closely monitoring its final hours before potential blackout.
In an online bulletin on Tuesday, Intuitive Machines, headquartered in Texas, relayed that its control hub in Houston maintained a steadfast connection with the lander. Even as Odysseus treaded toward its potential curtain call, it diligently relayed payload science data and imagery, staying true to the mission’s core objectives.
Despite a heart-stopping descent last Thursday, marred by an eleventh-hour navigational hiccup, Odysseus touched down on lunar soil. However, its landing, askew and tilted, proved to be a double-edged sword, compromising its communication and solar-charging capabilities.
The day after its touchdown, Intuitive Machines revealed a sobering truth: human error had orchestrated the navigational debacle. Oversight in manually unlocking a safety switch before launch thwarted the activation of the vehicle’s laser-guided range finders, compelling flight engineers into a frenzied improvisation during lunar orbit.
An executive from Intuitive Machines confided to Reuters on Saturday that this oversight was a consequence of expedience – a decision to forgo a test-firing of the laser system during pre-launch checks in a bid to save time and costs.
While the jury deliberated on whether the navigational mishap played a pivotal role in Odysseus’ off-kilter landing, the aftermath was stark. Two communication antennae lay incapacitated, their orientation awry, alongside solar panels facing a mistaken direction, hampering battery recharge.
As fate would have it, Monday heralded grim news from Intuitive Machines: contact with Odysseus was slated to fade into silence by Tuesday morning. This premature termination curtailed a mission brimming with promise, housing a plethora of science instruments for NASA and several commercial entities, intended to thrive on the moon’s surface for seven to ten days.
Awaiting the Verdict on Battery Life
Come Tuesday morning, Intuitive Machines grappled with a crucial conundrum: as controllers meticulously gauged the lander’s battery life, a window of potential extended operation – spanning 10-20 additional hours – glimmered faintly. The latest update hinted at a fleeting extension, projecting a total lunar residence of six days before the sun’s descent over the landing site.
Despite the preceding setbacks, Intuitive’s stocks soared by 7% on Tuesday following this announcement.
NASA, having invested $118 million in Odysseus’ conception and mission, harbored optimism regarding data retrieval. Bill Nelson, NASA’s chief, expressed confidence in salvaging insights from all six payloads, shedding light on Odysseus’ precarious positioning beside a crater wall, tilted at a 12-degree angle, albeit amid uncertainties.
While visual confirmation of Odysseus’ lunar presence remained pending, an orbiting NASA spacecraft offered a tantalizing glimpse. A released image on Monday unveiled the lander as a mere speck, nestled in the moon’s south pole region – its intended abode.
Despite the tumultuous touchdown, Odysseus etched its name in history as the inaugural US spacecraft to grace the moon since Apollo’s curtain call in 1972. A testament to commercial innovation and a cornerstone of NASA’s Artemis program, it reignites humanity’s lunar ambitions, paving the way for future odysseys.
