This mission is part of NASA’s efforts to bring science and technology to the lunar surface in support of the Artemis program.
SpaceX has successfully launched a commercial lander built by US-based Intuitive Machines, aiming for the first US manned landing on the moon in more than 50 years.
The Intuitive Machines spacecraft known as Odysseus successfully separated from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket yesterday (February 15). The mission’s lunar module appears to be in “very good health,” according to a progress update from Intuitive Machines.
The goal is to land the company’s lunar lander on the moon’s surface, specifically at the south pole, later this month. If successful, it will be the first time a private company has successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon.
Japan’s historic attempt to land a civilian moon landing ended in disaster last year when iSpace lost contact with the lunar lander Hakuto-R as it began its descent toward the moon’s surface. . Last month, a U.S. civilian mission to the moon carrying NASA equipment failed after a fuel leak was detected in the spacecraft.
The joint SpaceX and Intuitive Machines mission is being conducted in partnership with NASA as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which involves using private companies to bring science and technology to the lunar surface. .
It is a key part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to conduct a manned mission to the moon’s surface.
Mark Sarge, director of research at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, said the Artemis mission would establish a permanent base on the moon that could serve as a launch pad for Mars exploration, mine extremely rare metals, and create space missions. The aim is to build a telescope that can peer far into the distance. unaffected by the presence of the atmosphere. ”
“The key to establishing these bases is identifying the best locations to build them, such as permanently shadowed craters near the moon’s poles where icy water can support human activity,” Sarge said. he said.
“NASA is leveraging a series of robotic missions to achieve this goal, with help from private companies that can help build and launch experiments. This is where Intuitive Machines and SpaceX come into play. .”
NASA plans to send astronauts to the moon’s south pole by 2025, and space agencies around the world are keeping an eye on the region. In August last year, India became the first country to successfully land the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the moon’s south pole.
Meanwhile, the United States report A paper published in late 2023 argued that NASA’s plan to land astronauts on the moon in 2025 is “unrealistic” and that a 2027 launch is likely.
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