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NASA's Nova-C lunar lander, encapsulated within the payload fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, part of the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission, is docked at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A as part of its launch preparations, in Florida, USA, February 13, 2024. Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich, EPA-EFE.


NASA's Nova-C lunar lander, encapsulated within the payload fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, part of the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission, is docked at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A as part of its launch preparations, in Florida, USA, 13 February 2024. The IM-1 moon mission is standing down from 14 February attempt due to off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load. The launch is now targeting Thursday, 15 February at 1:05 a.m. ET. The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program (CLPS) initiative and the Artemis program.  EPA-EFE/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

Article (news)

NASA-SpaceX Intuitive Machines First Moon Mission launch

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/12023980.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="NASA&#x27;s Nova-C lunar lander, encapsulated within the payload fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, part of the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission, is docked at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A as part of its launch preparations, in Florida, USA, February 13, 2024. Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich, EPA-EFE."/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">NASA&#x27;s Nova-C lunar lander, encapsulated within the payload fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, part of the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission, is docked at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A as part of its launch preparations, in Florida, USA, February 13, 2024. <em>Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich, EPA-EFE.</em></span></span></span></div><p>An American spaceship attempting a lunar landing has been rescheduled to launch early Thursday, the second private-led effort this year after the first ended in dismal failure.</p><p>Intuitive Machines, the Houston company leading mission &quot;IM-1,&quot; hopes to become the first non-government entity to achieve a soft touchdown on the Moon and land the first US robot on the surface since the Apollo missions more than five decades ago.</p><p>Its hexagonal-shaped Nova-C lander named &quot;Odysseus&quot; had been set to blast off on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:57 am Wednesday local time (0557 GMT).</p><p>But NASA said the launch was postponed due to &quot;off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load,&quot; according to a post on social media platform X.</p><p>&quot;It is now scheduled for 1:05am ET (0605 GMT)&quot; on Thursday, the space agency added.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/7/us-to-launch-next-moon-mission-on-valentine-s-day-710" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">READ: US to launch next Moon mission on Valentine&#x27;s Day</a></div><p>Odysseus is powered by a mix of supercooled methane and oxygen to enable the spaceship to reach its destination quickly, avoiding prolonged exposure to a region of high radiation surrounding the Earth.</p><p>Intuitive Machine&#x27;s Trent Martin told reporters before the postponement that the &quot;opportunity to return the United States to the Moon for the first time since 1972 is a feat of engineering that demands a hunger to explore.&quot;</p><p>The craft was due to reach its landing site Malapert A on February 22, an impact crater 300 kilometers (180 miles) from the south pole.</p><p>NASA hopes to eventually build a long-term presence and harvest ice there for both drinking water and rocket fuel under Artemis, its flagship Moon-to-Mars program.</p><div><strong>- Back to the Moon -</strong></div><p>NASA paid Intuitive Machines $118 million to ship science hardware to better understand and mitigate environmental risks for astronauts, the first of whom are scheduled to land no sooner than 2026.</p><p>The instruments include cameras to investigate how the lunar surface changes as a result of engine plume kicking up dust and a device to analyze the charged dust haze that appears during lunar twilight as a result of solar radiation.</p><p>Odysseus also carries an advanced landing system that uses laser pulses to detect hazards like small boulders and craters.</p><p>There is more colorful cargo aboard as well, including a digital archive of human knowledge and 125 mini-sculptures of the Moon by the artist Jeff Koons.</p><p>After touchdown, the payloads are expected to run for roughly seven days before lunar night sets in on the south pole, rendering Odysseus inoperable.</p><p>IM-1 is the second mission under a NASA initiative called Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), which the space agency created to delegate trucking services to the private sector to achieve savings and to stimulate a wider lunar economy.</p><p>The first, by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic, launched in January, but its Peregrine spacecraft experienced an engine anomaly that caused a fuel leak and was eventually brought back to burn up in Earth&#x27;s atmosphere.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/overseas/01/26/24/damaged-mars-helicopter-has-taken-its-last-flight-nasa">READ: Damaged Mars helicopter &#x27;has taken its last flight&#x27; - NASA</a></div><div><strong>- Busy calendar -</strong></div><p>Soft landing a robot on the Moon is challenging because it has to navigate treacherous terrain amid a lag of several seconds in communications with Earth and use its thrusters for a controlled descent in the absence of an atmosphere that would support parachutes.</p><p>Only five nations have succeeded: the Soviet Union was first, then the United States, which is still the only country to also put people on the surface.</p><p>In America&#x27;s long absence, China has landed three times since 2013, India in 2023, and Japan was the latest, last month -- though its robot has struggled to stay powered on after a wonky touchdown left its solar panels pointing the wrong way.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/25/24/japan-craft-made-successful-pin-point-moon-landing-space-agency">READ: Japan craft made successful pin-point Moon landing, space agency says</a></div><p>Apart from Astrobotic&#x27;s failed attempt, two other private initiatives got close: Beresheet, operated by an Israeli nonprofit, crash-landed in 2019, while Japanese company ispace also had a &quot;hard landing&quot; last year.</p><p>Intuitive Machines has two additional launches scheduled for this year, while another Texas company, Firefly Aerospace has one too. Astrobotic will get another shot in late 2024, carrying a NASA rover to the Moon&#x27;s south pole.</p><p>NASA is increasingly purchasing services rather than hardware from commercial partners, unlike during the Cold War when it had a nearly unlimited budget and dictated contracts down to the last bolt.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p44d25YPvzw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>An American spaceship attempting a lunar landing has been rescheduled to launch early Thursday, the second private-led effort this year after the first ended in dismal failure.</p>

An American spaceship attempting a lunar landing has been rescheduled to launch early Thursday, the second private-led effort this year after the first ended in dismal failure.

US prestige at stake as Texas company launches for the Moon

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US prestige at stake as Texas company launches for the Moon

Agence France-Presse,

Gianrigo Marletta with Issam Ahmed in Washington

Published February 14, 2024 04:20 PM PHT

Read More:

space

Moon

astronomy

Intuitive Machines

NASA

Odysseus

Kennedy Space Center

Commercial Lunar Payload Services

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