[imagesource:X/Intuitive Machines]

Intuitive Machines is hoping to become the first private company to pull off a soft landing on the moon.

After an eight-day journey through space, Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission is ready to attempt a potentially historic landing on the surface of the Moon. The Odysseus lunar lander is set for touchdown on Thursday at 5:49PM ET near the Malapert A crater in the Moon’s South Pole region.

That’s 00:49 on Friday, in South Africa.

Things are looking good so far for Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C class lander, which entered lunar orbit on Wednesday following a series of trajectory correction manoeuvres and a nearly seven-minute main engine burn, the company announced:

Odysseus completed its scheduled 408-second main engine lunar orbit insertion burn and is currently in a 92 km circular lunar orbit. Initial data indicates the 800 m/s burn was completed within 2 m/s accuracy. 🧵1/4 (21FEB2024 0920 CST) pic.twitter.com/ZoFStQD3cX

— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 21, 2024

The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which aims to establish a consistent flow of landers to the Moon for delivering both government-owned and commercial payloads. Odysseus is equipped with 12 payloads, six of which consist of science and technology instruments intended for NASA’s use. A payload is basically a valuable spacecraft, cargo, or people that need to be delivered into space.

Odysseus, @Int_Machines’ uncrewed Moon lander, is targeted to touch down at the lunar South Pole at 5:30pm ET (2230 UTC) Feb. 22. Watch live with us as this Moon delivery brings science instruments to study the region. https://t.co/7U0WfJG56b pic.twitter.com/9JXBdD4y6K

— NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2024

Gizmodo has the details for how to tune in Live to watch this lunar landing:

Intuitive Machines will host a live stream of the landing on its website, and NASA will also air its own live coverage through the space agency’s website and NASA TV. You can also tune in through the stream below. The live coverage will begin at 4:15 p.m. ET, and NASA will host a news conference afterwards.

That’s 23:15PM tonight in South Africa:

It’s been relatively difficult for a spacecraft to land on the moon lately. A series of unfortunate anomalies that took down other recent missions include Astrobotic, which failed in its attempt to reach the Moon due to a valve issue with its spacecraft in January, as well as Japan’s ispace Hakuto-R M1 that crashed on the lunar surface in April 2023, and Israel’s SpaceIL Beresheet lander, which met a similar fate in April 2019.

If Thursday’s landing attempt goes according to plan, Intuitive Machines could become the first company to pull off a successful touchdown on the lunar surface.

[source:gizmodo]