Intuitive Machine gave an update about its Odysseus moon landing mission. According to the company, the spacecraft dubbed Oddie wasn't expected to wake up after it successfully landed near the lunar south pole.
Intuitive Machine Gives Update About Odie
On Feb. 22, Odie successfully landed on the moon. It was the first commercial lunar lander to do so, but the mission was short-lived.
After seven Earth days of operation, the solar-powered Odie stopped at its landing spot when the sun went down. The lander's surface mission was not supposed to last long, but Intuitive Machines hoped that when sunlight flooded its solar arrays, Odie would wake up. After all, Japan's SLIM moon lander emerged from its lunar hibernation late last month. Unfortunately, Intuitive Machine announced over the weekend that Odie's eyes would be closed indefinitely.
On Saturday (March 23), Intuitive Machine announced on X, previously Twitter, that its IM-1 mission ended seven days after it landed on the moon. The team acknowledged that Odie was unlikely to survive the harsh temperature of the lunar night. However, the flight controllers tucked Odie into a configuration that could phone home if various systems performed better than expected from the manufacturer before its batteries ran out.
Intuitive Machine had been listening for Odie's wake-up signal since March 20, when there was enough sunlight to power the lander's power system and turn its radio on. However, three days later, flight controllers decided that their projections were right and Odie's power system would not be able to complete another call home.
"This confirms that Odie has permanently faded after cementing its legacy into history as the first commercial lunar lander to land on the Moon," Intuitive Machine concluded.
As previously announced on February 29th, our IM-1 mission ended seven days after landing, as Odysseus’ mission was not intended to survive the harsh temperatures of the lunar night. Before its batteries were depleted, flight controllers tucked Odie into a configuration that…
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) March 23, 2024
As of March 23rd at 1030 A.M. Central Standard Time, flight controllers decided their projections were correct, and Odie’s power system would not complete another call home. This confirms that Odie has permanently faded after cementing its legacy into history as the first…
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) March 23, 2024
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About Odysseus 'Odie' Lunar Mission
On Feb. 15, Odysseus lifted out atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and headed toward the moon with 12 payloads. Six of the payloads were private payloads owned by various clients. At the same time, the remaining six were NASA experiments that the agency launched under a $118 million contract from its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program (CLPS).
On Feb. 21, the 14.1-foot-tall (4.3-meter) Odie entered lunar orbit. A day later, it reached close to Malapert A, a crater located approximately 190 miles (300 kilometers) from the moon's south pole.
It was quite a dramatic landing. Odie's laser rangefinder malfunction caused it to approach the landing zone a little faster than planned, damaging one or more of its six landing legs. The spaceship consequently tipped onto its side.
Odie, however, may continue to operate in its supine form. Following the historic touchdown, NASA officials announced that data was received from all five of the agency's active payloads. The sixth NASA cargo is a passive laser reflector array intended to aid future lunar missions in navigating.
"The bottom line is that every payload has met some level of their objective, and we're very excited about that," said Sue Lederer, CLPS project scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, in a press briefing on Feb. 28.
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