The United States returns to the Moon with the Odysseus ship more than half a century later

The ship Odysseus marked the return of USA to the lunar surface, more than 50 years after the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. As part of the IM-1 mission, the spacecraft successfully landed on the edge of the Malapert A crater, about 300 kilometers from the lunar south pole, and after a couple of changes in arrival time.

Thus, Odysseus, from the company Intuitive Machines, also became the first ship manufactured by a private firm to reach the natural satellite.

“Today, for the first time in more than half a century, the United States has returned to the Moon“said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson shortly after confirming Odysseus’s descent.

How did the mission begin?

The early morning of last February 15, the Odysseus ship It took off in the fairing of a Space X Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The trip took seven days until its descent was achieved around 5:23 p.m. today, central US time (23:24 GMT).

Before landing, the mission faced setbacks with the Intuitive Machines tool, which was to be used for guidance during descent and did not work, so the company was forced to use a NASA instrument.

For the landing process, which took about an hour, the ship needed to turn on its main engine for about ten minutes, which uses liquid oxygen and methane propellants, and rotate in order to get upright to rest on six legs.

Odysseus will remain in Malapert Awhere during the day temperatures of more than 100 degrees Celsius (212 Fahrenheit) are recorded, for about seven days until night falls in this region and it becomes inoperable.

This area is one of the thirteen candidate regions for the lunar landing of NASA’s Artemis III manned mission, with which the US space agency plans to send crewed trips to the Moon again in September 2026.

What is the mission about?

The IM-1 mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which is also part of the Artemis program.

In the case of Odysseusthe US space agency has spent US$ 118 million for the transport of scientific and technological instruments contained in six payloads.

Among the variety of NASA instruments carried by Odysseus, there are some for better fuel measurement, as well as cameras to capture sound and still images of the column of dust produced by the module when it begins its descent to the lunar surface.

In addition, the module has commissions from private clients, including the sports clothing and accessories company Columbia, which will test insulating material, and the plastic artist Jeff Koons, who has placed 125 tiny sculptures of the lunar phases in the ship.

(With EFE information).