1:56 p.m. ET, February 22, 2024
The “Odie” lander, which is concerning the measurement of a British cellphone sales space, is carrying expertise and artwork
Intuitive Machines reveals the corporate’s IM-1 Nova-C lunar lander, in Houston, in October 2023.
Intuitive Machines/AP/FILE
The Odysseus lander, the spacecraft aiming to make a historic touchdown on the moon on Thursday, is roughly the dimensions of a British phone sales space with legs connected, based on the corporate that made it.
Intuitive Machines is about to land the spacecraft close to the moon’s south pole, an space of excessive curiosity within the area race. This area is suspected to be home to water ice that would sooner or later be transformed into consuming water for astronauts — and even rocket gas. The south pole can also be the identical lunar area the place NASA is looking for to land astronauts later this decade.
Also on board will probably be commemorative objects, together with a sculpture representing the moon phases designed in session with Jeff Koons, and expertise from private-sector firms, together with Columbia Sportswear, which developed insulation materials for the lander.
If all goes based on plan, Odysseus will spend seven days working on the moon because the lunar lander basks within the solar. But because the touchdown zone strikes into Earth’s shadow, experiencing lunar night time, the spacecraft will probably be put to sleep.
