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47985
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: more garbage on the moon...
URL: https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/lander-alive-and-well-after-company-scores-18684490.php
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Lander 'alive and well' after company scores first US moon landing since Apollo era By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer Updated Feb 23, 2024 8:48 a.m. FILE - This image provided by Intuitive Machines shows its Odysseus lunar lander over the near side of the moon following lunar orbit insertion, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. Intuitive Machines reported Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, that it’s communicating with its lander, Odysseus, and sending commands to acquire science data. But it noted: “We continue to learn more about the vehicle’s specific information” regarding location, overall health and positioning. (Intuitive Machines via AP, File) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The moon’s newest arrival was said to be “alive and well” a day after making the first U.S. landing in half a century, but flight controllers were still trying to get a better handle on its bearings. Intuitive Machines reported Friday that it’s communicating with its lander, Odysseus, and sending commands to acquire science data. But it noted: “We continue to learn more about the vehicle’s specific information” regarding location, overall health and positioning. The Houston company was shooting for the south polar region, near the Malapert A crater, closer to the pole than anyone else so NASA could scout out the area before astronauts show up later this decade. With Thursday’s touchdown, Intuitive Machines became the first private business to pull off a moon landing, a feat previously achieved by only five countries. The mission was sponsored in large part by NASA, whose experiments were on board. NASA paid $118 million for the delivery under a program meant to jump-start the lunar economy. One of the NASA experiments was pressed into service when the lander's navigation system failed in the final few hours before touchdown. The lander took an extra lap around the moon to allow time for the last-minute switch to NASA's laser system. “Odie is a scrapper,” mission director Tim Crain said late Thursday via X, formerly Twitter. Another experiment didn't go so well. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's EagleCam — a set of six cameras — was supposed to eject 30 seconds before touchdown so it could capture pictures from afar of Odysseus' touchdown. EagleCam landed, instead, still attached to the lander. The original plan had to be modified during the last orbit due to “unexpected events,” a university spokeswoman explained. Intuitive Machines was the second company to aim for the moon under NASA's commercial lunar services program. Last month, Pittsburgh's Astrobotic Technology gave it a shot, but a fuel leak on the lander cut the mission short and the craft ended up crashing back to Earth. Until Thursday, the U.S. had not landed on the moon since Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt closed out NASA's famed moon-landing program in December 1972. NASA's new effort to return astronauts to the moon is named Artemis after Apollo's mythological twin sister. The first Artemis crew landing is planned for 2026 at the earliest. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. |
47989
From: Maj. Disaster, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: more garbage on the moon...
| No video, no telescopic corroboration... then it never happened. To date, only the Soviets have successfully landed on the moon. |
47997
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: more garbage on the moon...
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Sideways moon landing cuts mission short, private US lunar lander will stop working Tuesday By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace WriterUpdated Feb 26, 2024 9:25 a.m. These photos provided by NASA show images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team which confirmed Odysseus completed its landing. After traveling more than 600,000 miles, Odysseus landed within 1.5 km of its intended Malapert A landing site, using a contingent laser range-finding system patched hours before landing. (NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University via AP) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private U.S. lunar lander is expected to stop working Tuesday, its mission cut short after landing sideways near the south pole of the moon. Intuitive Machines, the Houston company that built and flew the spacecraft, said Monday it will continue to collect data until sunlight no longer shines on the solar panels. Based on the position of Earth and the moon, officials expect that to happen Tuesday morning. That's two to three days short of the week or so that NASA and other customers had been counting on. The lander, named Odysseus, is the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon in more than 50 years, carrying experiments for NASA, the main sponsor. But it came in too fast last Thursday and the foot of one of its six legs caught on the surface, causing it to tumble over, according to company officials. Based on photos from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter flying overhead, Odysseus landed within a mile or so (1.5 kilometers) of its intended target near the Malapert A crater, just 185 miles or so (300 kilometers) from the moon's south pole. The LRO photos from 56 miles (90 kilometers) up are the only ones showing the lander on the surface, but as little more than a spot in the grainy images. A camera-ejecting experiment by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, to capture images of the lander as they both descended, was called off shortly before touchdown because of a last-minute navigation issue. According to NASA, the lander ended up in a small, degraded crater with a 12-degree slope. That's the closest a spacecraft has ever come to the south pole, an area of interest because of suspected frozen water in the permanently shadowed craters there. NASA, which plans to land astronauts in this region in the next few years, paid Intuitive Machines $118 million to deliver six experiments to the surface. Other customers also had items on board. Instead of landing upright, the 14-foot (4.3-meter) Odysseus came down on its side, hampering communication with Earth. Some antennas were covered up by the toppled lander, and the ones still exposed ended up near the ground, resulting in spotty communications. The solar panels also ended up much closer to the surface than anticipated, less than ideal in the hilly terrain. Even under the best of circumstances, Odysseus only had a week to operate on the surface before the long lunar night set in. Since the 1960s, only the U.S., Russia, China, India and Japan have successfully pulled off moon landings, and only the U.S. with crews. Japan’s lander ended up on the wrong side, too, just last month. Despite its slanted landing, Intuitive Machines became the first private business to join the elite group. Another U.S. company, Astrobotic Technology, gave it a try last month, but didn't make it to the moon because of a fuel leak. Intuitive Machines almost failed, too. Ground teams did not turn on the switch for the lander's navigating lasers before the Feb. 15 liftoff from Florida. The oversight was not discovered until Odysseus was circling the moon, forcing flight controllers to rely on a NASA laser-navigating device that was on board merely as an experiment. As it turned out, NASA's test lasers guided Odysseus to a close to bull's-eye landing, resulting in the first moon landing by a U.S. spacecraft since the Apollo program. Twelve Apollo astronauts walked on the moon from 1969 through 1972. While NASA went on to put an occasional satellite around the moon, the U.S. did not launch another moon-landing mission until last month. Astrobotic's failed flight was the first under NASA’s program to promote commercial deliveries to the moon. Both Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic hold NASA contracts for more moon landings. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. |
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47990
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: more garbage on the moon...
| you are well named... |
Responses:
None
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