Odysseus, a spacecraft that secured its place in the annals of history as the first American US spaceship to touch down on the moon in over half a century, may have encountered a slight mishap by potentially toppling over on the lunar surface. Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, the private company responsible for the spacecraft’s preparation, purportedly remarked, “We may have damaged that landing gear and gently tipped over.”
According to NASA, Odysseus completed its week-long journey to lunar orbit and successfully executed maneuvers to softly land near Malapert A in the South Pole region of the Moon at 5:24 p.m. CST on February 22. The US space agency affirmed that the lander remains in good condition, utilizing solar power and transmitting data to the company’s mission control center in Houston. Providing an update on the lunar mission, Intuitive Machines stated that the lunar lander is “active and operational.”
“Flight controllers are engaged in communication and issuing commands to the vehicle for the retrieval of scientific data. The lander maintains satisfactory telemetry and solar charging capabilities. We are continually gathering further details about the vehicle’s specific data (latitude/longitude), overall status, and orientation,” the company added.
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