The company that sent the first private spacecraft to the surface of the moon, named Odysseus, said on Friday Moon car (Moon Lander) is ‘safe and sound’ but Moon is lying on its side.
It is the first private and first American spacecraft to reach the lunar surface since 1972.
Houston-based company Intuitive Machines also revealed how human error led to the failure of the spacecraft’s laser-based range finders, how engineers discovered the error hours before landing and how they created an emergency Improved the situation which saved the mission from a potential crash.
Company officials said during a briefing on Friday that although Odysseus landed on the lunar surface on Thursday (Feb. 23), flight engineers’ analysis of the data showed that the six-segment lander craft was closer to landing time. Apparently tripped over his own feet.
Stephen Altimas, the company’s chief executive officer, said that shortly before landing on the lunar surface, the lunar rover put one of its six landing sections on the surface of the moon and slipped, now tilted to one side. And at one end is a stone.
He told reporters: ‘Even so, all indications are that Odysseus is well near the crater Malapert A in the south polar region of the moon, or at our intended landing site.’
Altimes was saying: ‘We are in contact with the lunar vehicle’ and mission control operators were sending commands to the vehicle. He added that they are working to get the first images of the lunar surface from the landing site.
Odysseus was described as ‘safe and well’ in a brief update posted on the company’s website earlier on Friday.
The company said shortly after Thursday’s landing that radio signals showed the 13-foot-long Hexagonal Odysseus had landed in an upright position, but Altimas said that based on pre-landing telemetry was incorrect. was done.
Although the lunar rover’s tilted position is far from realistic, company officials say all but one of NASA’s six science and technology payloads were installed on those parts of the rover, Altimas said. There were those who are on the upside and can be approached, ‘which is great for us.’
He added: ‘We believe we can also meet all commercial payload requirements.’
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Less promising is that two of the spacecraft’s antennas are pointing toward the lunar surface, a situation that would limit communications with the lunar rover, Altimas said.
He said the functionality of the solar panels on top of Odysseus, which is now facing the wrong direction, is also uncertain, but the second row of solar panels on the spacecraft is working and the spacecraft’s batteries are fully charged. Charged accordingly.
Space mission director Tim Crane says the spacecraft, which is the first in space to burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen propulsion fuels, performed ‘well’ during the lunar flyby.
An unmanned robotic spacecraft touched down on the surface of the moon on Thursday, shortly before its navigation system developed a problem, prompting engineers on the ground to make some last-minute maneuvers. Not tested before.
It also took some time to reestablish contact with the spacecraft after the expected radio blackout and determine its situation at about 239,000 miles (384,000 km) from Earth.
Company officials said during a webcast of the event Thursday evening that when contact was finally re-established, the signal was weak, confirming that the spacecraft had touched down, but that Mission Control immediately sent it back. Uncertainty about exact condition and position was encountered.
Tim Crane says he believes the payloads on the lunar rover will last about nine or 10 days, after which the sun will set on the polar landing site.
Shares of Intuitive Machines fell 30% during trading on Friday. The company has said its moon rover has crashed, sending its soaring share price sharply lower.
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2024-08-03 02:39:59
