IT House reported on February 18 that the commercial lunar lander "Odysseus" of the American Intuitive Machines (Intuitive Machines) was successfully launched on Thursday and is now steadily heading towards the moon. While it was still relatively close to Earth, the probe successfully photographed the stunning Earth**.
On Friday, the company shared the first images of the "IM-1 mission" after confirming that the spacecraft was "in good condition." In addition to the beauty of the Earth and some of the "Odysseus"* photos, you can even see the second stage booster of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that is fading away after separation.
Odysseus is scheduled to try to land on the moon on February 22, and so far everything is going well. The team released a series of updates via social media over the weekend, confirming that the probe had successfully completed key steps prior to landing, including engine ignition. According to Intuition Machines, this is "the first time in history that liquid methane and liquid oxygen engines have been ignited in Earth orbit".
If all goes well, Odysseus will be the first American spacecraft to make a soft landing on the lunar surface since the Apollo 17 landing in 1972. According to the New York Times, "Odysseus" will enter orbit around the moon 24 hours before landing, about 185 miles from the south pole on the front side of the moon (about 297.).7 km), where the terrain is relatively flat and it is easier to land.
The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program (CLPS), the second time NASA has launched a scientific payload to the moon with a private spacecraft, IT House understands. CLPS missions like IM-1 are paving the way for NASA's Artemis return program to the moon, allowing NASA to do more missions cheaper and more often. NASA has said that by establishing an infrastructure network on the lunar surface for Artemis astronauts, these commercial missions will lay the groundwork for NASA's future moon landings.