2024-02-23 01:34:29
Money Today Reporter Park Geon-hee | 2024.02.23 10:34
U.S. space company Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus (Nova-C) detects signal from the South Pole of the Moon
There were attempts in Israel, Japan, etc., but they failed… The world’s “first success” in the fourth time
Private-led ‘New Space Era’… Space exploration race begins in earnest
/Photo = Intuitive Machines’ private lunar lander successfully landed on the moon for the first time in the world. “Our lander has undoubtedly landed on the lunar surface.” At 5:38 p.m. on the 22nd (local time, 8:38 a.m. Korean time), Intuitive Machines lunar lander project manager Tim Crane finally confirmed the landing of the lunar lander ‘Odysseus’. Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, then spoke. “Welcome to the moon.”
The lunar lander ‘Odysseus (Nova-C)’ launched by the American space company Intuitive Machines landed safely at the South Pole of the Moon at 5:23 PM (8:23 AM Korean time) on the 22nd (local time). This is the first time that a lunar lander developed by a private company has landed on the lunar surface. Through this, the United States set foot on the moon once more 52 years following Apollo 17 in 1972. This is the first achievement of the ‘CLPS’ project, in which NASA joined hands with a private company to develop space, and is evaluated as a signal of the ‘New Space’ era in which the private sector leads the space industry.
Odysseus is reported to have landed at the target location, ‘Malaffert A’, the crater at the South Pole of the Moon, at around 8:23 a.m. Korean time. It took her approximately 15 minutes to establish contact with the Ji Shangguan Empire. At 8:38 Korean time, General Manager Tim Grein announced the final landing, saying, “We received a signal from Odysseus.” This scene was broadcast live around the world through NASA TV and the Intuitive Machines official website.
The landing site, the South Pole of the Moon, is an ‘unknown world’ that humanity has almost never touched. It is expected that the ice will remain as it is because it is a permanently shaded area where sunlight does not reach. It is expected that ice can be used as hydrogen fuel for lunar exploration. The South Pole of the Moon was selected as a difficult landing site because there was little light and the terrain was rough. In July last year, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)’s Lunar Lander Chandrayaan 3 successfully landed at the South Pole of the Moon for the first time in the world. Odysseus’ landing is the second.
The Intuitive Machines Mission (IM-1) is the second mission of the ‘Civil Lunar Payload Transport Service (Clips/CLPS)’ program promoted by NASA as part of the lunar exploration project ‘Artemis’ from 2023 to 2028. . This is a project in which NASA selects private space companies to transport various scientific payloads through the lunar lander developed by them. It is expected that through competition among private companies, launch vehicles and probes can be developed quickly and at a cheaper price. There are four contracting companies, including American space companies Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines. Astrobotic, the first of these attempts, launched America’s first private lunar lander ‘Peregrine’ on January 8th. However, problems such as fuel leakage occurred and the landing failed to enter the lunar surface. Intuitive Machines, the second company, followed suit and successfully landed on the moon.
Even before Peregrine, there were attempts to send private lunar landers around the world. Israel’s private space development association ‘Space IL’ launched Beresheet in 2019, but failed to land due to engine problems. Following this, the Japanese space company ‘iSpace’ took on a second challenge. After launching on a SpaceX rocket in December 2022, it succeeded in entering lunar orbit regarding four months later. However, it turned out to be a failure as communication with Earth was lost before landing. The third attempt is American Astrobotic’s Peregrine. Intuitive Machines succeeded for the first time following a total of four attempts worldwide.
Immediately following the success, NASA posted on the social networking service (SNS) ‘ revealed.
Meanwhile, in Korea, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), a government-funded research institute, is preparing to launch the first lunar lander in 2032. Under the ‘Korean Next-Generation Launch Vehicle (KSLV-Ⅲ) Development’ plan, a bid was entered into for a manufacturer to supervise the next-generation launch vehicle development project. Previously, on the 21st, only Hanwha Aerospace participated in the bidding and was rejected in accordance with relevant laws. On the 23rd, a re-bidding process to select the overall production company will begin.
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