Intuitive Machines ’ Odysseus lander captures an mental image high over Australia as it heads toward the moon . There ’s much debate as to whether the back breaker to the left wing of Earth is the second - microscope stage booster ( which is seen more clearly in the first of the four images ) or the moonlight , or something else . Intuitive motorcar
Soon after SpaceX successfully launched Intuitive Machines ’ Odysseus landertoward the moonlight last Thursday , the space vehicle snapped some over-the-top images of Earth .
Texas - base Intuitive Machines partake four of the images on societal media on Sunday . The first mental picture in the sequence even shows the second stage of SpaceX ’s Falcon 9 rocket salad falling away shortly after separating from the space vehicle .
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander captures an image high over Australia as it heads toward the moon. There’s much debate as to whether the dot to the left of Earth is the second-stage booster (which is seen more clearly in the first of the four images) or the moon, or something else.Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines successfully transmitted its first IM-1 mission images to Earth on February 16 , 2024 . The images were captured curtly after separation from@SpaceX's second leg on Intuitive Machines ’ first journey to the Moon under@NASA's CLPS initiative.pic.twitter.com/9LccL6q5tF
& mdash ; Intuitive Machines ( @Int_Machines)February 17 , 2024
Intuitive Machinessaidits team programmed the lander ’s wide and narrow field - of - aspect cameras “ to take five quick images every five minute for two hours , starting 100 seconds after separating from SpaceX ’s 2d microscope stage , ” lend that “ out of all the look-alike collected , Intuitive Machines choose to show humans ’s place in the creation with four rattling figure of speech we hope [ will ] inspire the next generation of risk - taker . ”
In a missionary post update , Intuitive Machines enjoin that Odysseus “ continues to be in excellent health ” as commission IM-1 relieve oneself its way toward the synodic month for a touchdown schedule to take place on Thursday . “ flight of stairs control are preparing planned flight discipline maneuvers to prepare the lander for lunar orbit insertion , ” the company added in its message .
If Intuitive Machines manages to perform a successful subdued landing with Odysseus , it will become the first secret company to reach the exploit . It will also tick the first soft lunar landing place by a U.S. spacecraft since the final Apollo foreign mission in 1972 .
Odysseus is carrying a total of 12 payloads , six of them for NASA . The payloads will operate for about seven days until the lunar Nox sets on the South Pole , at which point Odysseus will become inoperable .
IM-1 is part of NASA ’s new CLPS ( Commercial Lunar Payload Services ) political program , which involves the space agency contracting commercial entities to deploy skill missions on the moonlight ahead of the first Artemis crewed landing place , which is currently schedule for 2026 .
A standardized mission by Pittsburgh - based Astrobotic in Januaryfailed to make it to the moonafter a propellant making water touch on the Peregrine ballistic capsule shortly after launching .
