Odysseus Moon Probe Successfully Lands On Moon

The Odysseus probe is the name of Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 lander. CNN relates:

    The company was able to confirm that mission control received signals from the lunar surface shortly after landing. But it wasn’t until two hours later that Intuitive Machines shared that the spacecraft was “upright and starting to send data,” according to an update from the company on X, formerly known as Twitter.

    In yet another update Friday morning, Intuitive Machines revealed the spacecraft was “alive and well” and mission controllers were seeking to download science data from the vehicle.

    “We continue to learn more about the vehicle’s specific information (Lat/Lon), overall health, and attitude (orientation),” the company said in its update, adding that more information is expected at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

    The spacecraft’s position has been a key question since touchdown on Thursday evening, as communications issues became an immediate concern and flight controllers indicated they were getting weak signals from the vehicle.

    And while Intuitive Machines said it is also working to process images from Odysseus’ cameras, the company has not yet shared any pictures from the landing.

    Still, the spacecraft has already accomplished a historic feat, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to soft-land on the moon, and the first US-made vehicle to touch down on the lunar surface since the Apollo program ended more than five decades ago. This mission is of key interest to Intuitive Machines’ primary customer, NASA, which is seeking to scout the moon using robotic explorers developed by private contractors before sending astronauts there later this decade through its Artemis program.

    “Today for the first time in more than a half-century, the US has returned to the moon,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA’s commercial partnerships. Congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring quest.”

More details about the initial communications problem, an issue with the probe's own landing system that required it to switch to a lidar package being carried as a payload--what better test than to actually use it for the landing--and more information as to other payload packages on the lander.