A few days after the first successful commercial moon landing, the lander “Odysseus” sent images of the surface of the Earth satellite for the first time. On Monday, the company Intuitive Machines published several images that ‘Odysseus’ made on Friday evening during the landing, showing, among other things, the surface of the moon.
The recordings confirmed, among other things, that ‘Odysseus’ landed in a crater called ‘Malapart A’ within 1.5 kilometers of the originally intended landing site, it was said – and is therefore further south on the moon than any other spacecraft. has ever been. Scientists suspect that there are numerous mineral resources in the area.
Lander communicates with the control center
The lander is still communicating with the control center. Data is now collected until the sun no longer reaches the landing site and charging of the solar batteries is no longer possible.
Last week, the ‘Nova-C’ lander, nicknamed ‘Odysseus’ or ‘Ody’, landed an American device on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. However, according to Intuitive Machines, ‘Odysseus’ tilted when he landed and is now on its side. However, data can still be collected.
The ‘Nova-C’ lander is about the size of an old-fashioned British telephone box, has aluminum legs, weighs about 700 kilograms and can transport about 130 kilograms of cargo. NASA has allocated much of it to research equipment and other materials, while commercial companies have secured the rest for their projects.
The mission is part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program. With this program, the American space agency wants to collect as much knowledge as possible relatively cheaply and efficiently on its own way back to the moon by awarding contracts for moon landings to private companies and working with them.
Moon landings are seen as technically very demanding and often go wrong. This year alone, two planned landings turned out differently than hoped.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
