Intuitive Machines: American company aiming to land on the moon

Texas company Intuitive Machines (IM) will attempt to launch a probe to the moon in the next few hours.

If the company succeeds, it will be the first commercial venture to achieve this feat.

It will also be the first soft landing of Americans on the moon since the Apollo era just over half a century ago.

IM has a contract from the U.S. Space Agency (NASA) to deliver scientific equipment to the moon's south pole.

The targeted landing site is a crater-like terrain adjacent to a 5km-high mountain range known as Malapart. This region is one of the locations on the short list of sites where NASA will send astronauts later this decade as part of the Artemis program.

This instrument should provide planners with fresh insight into what surface conditions are like.

Intuitive Machines controllers are aiming for a touchdown around 23:24 GMT, but the company has been shifting the time back and forth in recent hours.

“Six NASA payloads and six commercial payloads will operate on the lunar surface for seven days until sunset at the Malapart A Crater landing site on the moon's south pole, with IM-1's “The mission is complete. , we're going to do some amazing experiments and technology demonstrations,” said Trent Martin, the company's vice president of space systems.

IM's efforts follow those of another Pittsburgh-based private company, Astrobotic, which set out for the moon in early January but was unable to even attempt a landing due to technical issues. could not.

Japan's space agency (JAXA) had a stroke of luck at the end of the month, reaching the surface safely on January 19th, but an awkward landing that left the solar array oriented away from the sun meant it had to wait several days. Lost operations.

IM's 675kg Odysseus lander is about the size of an old British telephone box. It was sent from Earth on February 15th and was captured in orbit around the moon this Wednesday.

Controllers will monitor the spacecraft's descent from headquarters in Houston, but Odysseus himself will make important decisions regarding the approach.

Initially at an altitude of 100 km, Odysseus will use a guidance system to reach a point approximately 30 km above the designated landing site before descending straight down. The large engines onboard are expected to reduce the descent speed to just 1 meter per second upon landing.

If the mission descends safely, it will be the southernmost landing ever carried out. The Indian Space Agency (Isro) currently holds this record thanks to its historic Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander, which landed on the moon's surface at 69 degrees south latitude in August last year.

IM's target is located at 80 degrees south latitude, just 300 km from the South Pole.

“Commercial industry involves a competitive environment, which means that our up-front investment will ultimately yield far more benefits at far less cost,” said Susan Lederer, NASA's CLPS project scientist. means,” he explained.

“Instead of[NASA's]one mission every 10 years, we're going to have about 10 commercial missions per 10 years. Instead of four or five, we're going to have about four or five dozen commercial missions to the moon a decade. Flight becomes possible.”

Six NASA instruments are coupled to Odysseus by payloads from six other IM customers.

These include the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student camera system, which will be deployed from Odysseus, 30 meters above the lunar surface. When the spacecraft lands, the camera will attempt to take a selfie.

American artist Jeff Koons also installed a box on the side of the lander containing 125 small stainless steel balls representing the different phases of the moon.

It will also carry a telescope from the International Lunar Observatory Association to take photos of the Milky Way. The moon is an ideal place to conduct astronomical research because it is free from the disruptive effects experienced on Earth, such as atmospheric blurring and radio interference.

NASA's payload will focus on obtaining information useful for future human exploration. Odysseus is equipped with new technology to aid in precise navigation and to know exactly how much propellant is available to the aircraft's thrusters.

Moon dust will also be studied, as Apollo astronauts have determined that it is a serious nuisance that can damage or clog equipment.

Historically, about half of all soft landings on the Moon have been successful.

This remains true in this century, starting with China's Chang'e 3 mission in 2013. Although it was successful, he failed on six of his next ten attempts.