NASA/GSFC/ASUThe Intuitive Machines IM-1 Nova-C, Odysseus, landed on the Moon Thursday, 22 February, at 23:23:53 UTC (17:23 CST). An arrow points to the Nova-C lander; picture width is 973 meters, NAC M1463440322L.
NASA/GSFC/ASU
On Monday, the Lunar Reconnaissance orbiter camera of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reported that its spacecraft, which was given the name Odysseus, had successfully landed.
At an altitude of 2579 meters, the Odysseus spacecraft successfully touched down at a location with coordinates of 80.13 degrees south and 1.44 degrees east. The landing was made feasible with the assistance of a contingent laser range-finding system that was patched a few hours prior to the landing that took place.
The spacecraft traveled for more than 600,000 miles and landed within 1.5 kilometers of its designated Malapert A site, according to a social network post on X that was published by Intuitive Machines, a business that specializes in space exploration.
A few pieces of cargo from the commercial sector were also carried by Odysseus. These included a piece of artwork as well as a camera known as EagleCam. This camera was designed to pop off the lander and take a "selfie" of the spacecraft as it was in its final fall.
NASA awarded Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts to Intuitive Machines and other companies to build private lunar landers for its Artemis missions, which will send astronauts back to the moon for the first time since Apollo 17's crew landed there in December 1972.
In the course of its approach to the landing site, Odysseus took this picture around thirty-five seconds after it had pitched over.