Early Thursday morning, SpaceX launched a robotic lunar lander to the moon. The space company’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The rocket was carrying Odysseus, a moonlander built by Intuitive Machines. If the lander lands on the moon, the Houston-based company will become the first private to launch such a mission.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifted from the Kennedy Space Center on February 15 at 1:05 a.m. EST. After approximately 7.5 minutes, the rocket’s first stage landed on Earth. The vertical touchdown occurred at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, next to NASA’s KSC.
SpaceX said that this particular booster has completed 18 launches and landings. The space company’s reuse record for its Falcon 9 rocket launch has been 19 missions for launching its Starlink satellites.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage is powering its way to space. It will eventually deploy the robotic Nova-C lander named Odysseus into a lunar transfer orbit, following which Odysseus will begin its journey into the lunar orbit, which is expected to take six days.
Odysseus will then attempt to land on the moon’s surface. This moon landing is scheduled at Malapert A, a small crater about 190 miles from the moon’s south pole.
NASA is closely monitoring the mission as it has instruments on Odysseus and is planning its own Artemis program to the moon. This program is expected to establish a base on the moon with crew (astronauts).
Odysseus’ moon lander carries the following payloads on IM-1, six NASA instruments, and six commercial loads for different customers.
Some commercial payloads include “Omni-Heat Infinity” insulation material from Columbia Sportswear, sculptures by artist Jeff Koons, and a “secure lunar repository” with human knowledge in case Earth faces a catastrophe.
The IM1 has an Eagle Cam built by students of Emory-Riddle Aeronautical University. It will attempt to take photos of Odysseus’ touchdown on the moon’s surface.
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