The last images from a doomed lunar lander have been published after Odysseus failed to stick the landing on the moon last week.
Houston-based Initiative Machines shared stunning images of Earth’s natural satellite captured by the craft as it made its descent to the surface.
During America’s first successfully mission to the moon since the Apollo in 1972, the spacecraft tumbled as it attempted to land, falling sideways on the landscape and unable to perform its mission that was to search for lunar water.
Based on the position of Earth and the sun, officials expect the craft to stop all operations Tuesday morning.
Intuitive Machines, which developed and operated the craft, has shared the first images Odysseus snapped as it descended to the moon
Odysseus was poised to become the first privately owned spacecraft to land on the moon, which Initiative Machines built for $118 million.
NASA signed a contract with the Houston-based company in 2021, which saw the lunar lander take off on February 15, 2024.
Odysseus was fitted with instruments to drill into the moon, collect samples and analyze them for signs of water that would be used by Artemis III astronauts who are set to arrive on the moon around 2026.
However, now that teh craft is likely to go dark, the mission is no longer on the table.
Odysseus is still communicating with the grounds team and Intuitive Machines proclaimed as ‘the furthest south any vehicle has been.’
Shares of Houston-based Intuitive Machines slumped more than 30 percent on Monday after the space exploration firm said its Odysseus moon lander had tipped over and was resting on its side.
But Odysseus is currently lying on its side due to tripping on the lunar surface. Pictured is how the company explained the craft’s position during Friday’s press conference
The new images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Camera confirmed Odysseus landed within 4,921 feet of its intended Malapert A landing site
While the landing may have failed, Intuitive Machines noted that Odysseus still uncovered nine safe landing sites with the target south pole region.
The nine landing locations may be rich in resources, which Odysseus was set to drill in search of water for the future astronauts – but the task is likely not to happen due to the craft being tipped over.
But the new images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Camera confirmed Odysseus landed within 4,921 feet of its intended Malapert A landing site.
While the landing may have failed, Intuitive Machines noted that Odysseus still uncovered nine safe landing sites with the target south pole region
One snapshot from LRO shows the craft as a faint, bright dot on the crated lunar surface – a spot that may be its final resting place.
However, Odysseus was able to capture stunning images of the moon before making a hard landing.
‘Flight controllers intend to collect data until the lander’s solar panels are no longer exposed to light,’ Intuitive Machines shared in an announcement.
‘Based on Earth and Moon positioning, we believe flight controllers will continue to communicate with Odysseus until Tuesday morning.’
Because the craft is tipped over, it cannot continuously power due to being away from the sun.
The company, which became the first private company to land on the moon and the first from the U.S. since 1972, said that all but one of its six NASA science and technology payloads were facing upwards and receptive to communications.
However, Intuitive Machine’s stock fell 34 percent to $6.30 before the opening bell on Monday, more than offsetting the gains on Friday, in which nearly 99 million shares exchanged hands, a record for the stock.
On Friday, the total value of traded shares reached $1.01 billion, surpassing the company´s market valuation of approximately $960 million, as per LSEG data.
The rise in stocks was before the company held a press conference Friday evening to break the news that Odysseus did not perform a soft landing as previously stated.
Intuitive Machines revealed one of the legs became caught, causing it to fall onto its side – just one day after a white-knuckle touchdown that was confirmed as a soft landing.
CEO Steve Altemus explained he and his team were not deliberately misleading the public when they shared on X about America’s return to the lunar surface – they were just ‘working with old telemetry.’
