The spacecraft known as Odysseus is currently on its way to the moon, embarking on an eight-day voyage with plans to land on Thursday, February 22nd. Odysseus carries a total of 12 payloads, six of which are for NASA scientific research operations. and six commercial payloads. These payloads include a variety of subjects, including plume-surface interactions, space weather, radio astronomy, precision landing techniques, and communication and navigation nodes aimed at advancing future autonomous navigation technologies.
For NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program, this mission aims to deliver a science payload to the Moon’s surface. Source: SpaceX
This mission is a milestone for both SpaceX and Intuitive Machines, and also for NASA, which paid Intuitive Machines approximately $118 million for this mission under the CLPS program. This will be the second lunar mission under the CLPS program, following last month’s Astrobotic Peregrine mission, which failed to reach the moon due to a propulsion leak.
The Nova-C lander is expected to land near the Malapart A crater near the moon’s south pole. The lander uses liquid oxygen and liquid methane as propellants, which are difficult to store but highly efficient. The lander will perform several maneuvers to adjust its orbit and insert itself into a 100km lunar orbit before attempting a final descent. The lander will have to reduce its speed by about 1,800 meters per second, and for the last 10 kilometers it will have to slow down to 1 meter per second.
The Nova C lander is expected to land near Malapart Crater on the moon’s south pole. Source: SpaceX
The company’s success marks the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon since 1972, and the first privately developed spacecraft to land on the moon. Additionally, this mission will serve as a showcase for the capabilities of the Nova-C lander, a specialized class of lunar module built by Intuitive Machines to transport small commercial payloads to the lunar surface.
The mission is part of NASA’s broader Artemis campaign, which aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there by 2028. NASA plans to use the CLPS program to send multiple robotic missions to the Moon carrying various scientific instruments and technology demonstrations in preparation for human exploration. The CLPS program also aims to foster the development of a commercial lunar market and foster innovation and competition in the space industry.
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The Nova-C lander’s launch and landing will be broadcast live on NASA+, NASA TV, the NASA app, and NASA’s website. The public can also submit questions on social media using #AskNASA.