Odysseus moon lander set to launch on Valentine’s Day by Intuitive Machines and SpaceX
Intuitive Machines and SpaceX have finalized a launch date for the first private lunar landing mission, which is set to take place on February 14, coinciding with Valentine’s Day. Unlike ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, the Odysseus moon lander will take a direct route to the lunar south pole. Named IM-1 moon mission, its primary goal is to achieve a successful landing on the lunar surface. If accomplished, this mission will mark the first private endeavor to land on the Moon. Learn more about the mission and the Odysseus moon lander.
Intuitive Machines and the SpaceX IM-1 spaceflight
Space.com reports that the IM-1 lunar mission is scheduled to launch on February 14 at 12:57 p.m. EST from the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. The launch will be carried out on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, consisting of Intuitive Machines’ robotic Nova-C lander Odysseus. The lunar lander is aiming for a landing date of February 22, 2024, if all goes according to plan. The president and CEO of Intuitive Machines said, “As we prepare to begin our IM-1 journey to the moon, we carry with us a collective spirit of perseverance fueled by the dedication and hard work of all our team members.”
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According to reports, the mission will consist of a three-day launch window of February 14, 15 and 16 this month due to limited sunlight in the lunar south pole region. According to SpaceX, if the launch of the IM-1 lunar mission is not successful in the three-day window, they are aiming for a March launch.
About Odysseus’ Orb Launcher
The Odysseus ball counter consists of 12 large payloads, including six instruments from NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Service Program (CLPS). In addition, the counter consists of six commercial payloads. According to a report by Tech Crunch, NASA is investing about $118 million in Intuitive Machines to take the payload to the moon’s South Pole. The Odysseus lunar lander is expected to operate for 7 days on the Moon before lunar night landing.
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