2024-02-23 00:30:05
The American company Intuitive Machines has just made the history of lunar exploration by becoming the first private company to successfully land a moon landing. This historic moment occurred on the night of February 22 to 23, when thelander (A lander in the field of astronautics designates a machine…) Nova-C, nicknamed Odysseus, hit the surface (A surface generally refers to the surface layer of an object. The term a…) from the moon. But what makes this event so remarkable? And why are eyes now turning towards the cratère (For the crater of volcanic origin, see Volcanic crater For the crater of origin…) Malapert-A, please pôle Sud (The South Pole is the southernmost point on the Earth’s surface, diametrically…) lunar (For namesakes, see Pierrot Lunar, a work of vocal music by Arnold Schönberg.) ?
Crédit: Intuitive Machines
After more than fifty years of absence, the United States is marking its return to the Moon, a strong symbolic gesture in a context of space renewal. The last American contact with lunar soil dates back to the Apollo missions of 1972. In the meantime, new international players, such as China, India and Japan, have proven their ability to join our satellite naturel (A natural satellite is an object that orbits a planet or other object more…)thus relaunching a dynamic (The word dynamic is often used to designate or qualify that which relates to movement. It…) competitive in space.
The success of Intuitive Machines, a company founded in 2013, illustrates not only the potential of private companies in space exploration but also the crucial role of NASA in this new chapter . Indeed, although the mission is the work of a private company, it was largely financed by the program Commercial (A salesperson is a person whose job is related to sales.) NASA’s Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), which aims to encourage robotic lunar missions by the private sector. The collaboration between Intuitive Machines and NASA highlights a strategic approach, aiming to optimize resources while stimulant (A stimulant is a substance that increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system…) innovation in the space sector.
Mission profile: Nova-C landing.
Crédit: Intuitive Machines
The choice of the Malapert-A crater for the landing is not trivial. This region, located regarding 300 kilometers from the lunar South Pole, is considered an Eldorado for space agencies because of its potential reserves of water ice. These resources might not only be used to sustain life in future lunar bases but also provide essential compounds, such ashydrogène (Hydrogen is a chemical element with symbol H and atomic number 1.) and theoxygène (Oxygen is a chemical element from the chalcogen family,…), for refueling spacecraft. Odysseus follows the traces (TRACES (TRAde Control and Expert System) is a veterinary health network of…) of the Indian Chandrayaan-3 probe, becoming the second spacecraft to explore this promising region.
Although Odysseus’ mission is brief, limited to seven days due to the extreme conditions during the lunar night, it provides a valuable opportunity to study theenvironment (The environment is everything that surrounds us. It is all of the natural elements and…) immediate impact of the landing and its impacts on the lunar surface. This mission is part of a broader movement aimed at redefining our relationship with the Moon, not only as an object of scientific study but also as a potential springboard for future space exploration.
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