US Moon lander 'permanently' asleep after historic landing: company
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Houston-based Intuitive Machines announced that its uncrewed American lander, named Odysseus, has failed to 'wake up' after its historic landing on the Moon. The lander, which became the first private business to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon without crashing, had not phoned home when its solar panels were projected to receive enough sunlight to turn on its radio. Despite completing several tests and sending back photos, the lander entered a weeks-long lunar night and was unable to recover. Intuitive Machines confirmed that the lander's power system would not complete another call home, marking the end of its mission. The mission, hailed as a success, encountered challenges along the way, including a tip-over at landing. The US space agency NASA paid Intuitive Machines around $120 million for the mission as part of its initiative to delegate cargo missions to the private sector. Intuitive Machines has two more lunar missions planned this year as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.

#MoonLander #Odysseus #IntuitiveMachines #Nasa #LunarMission #SpaceExploration

https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/world-news/us-moon-lander-permanently-asleep-after-historic-landing-company/articleshow/108758957.cms