Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander is stable and functioning, but it appears to have landed on the moon’s surface on its side.
NASA has shared more details about yesterday’s historic moon landing, when Intuitive Machines became the first commercial company to successfully touch down on the moon’s surface. The company shared an image taken by its Odysseus lander of its view of the Schomberger crater on the moon’s southern hemisphere as it came in to land, taken at an altitude of around 6 miles from the surface.
The lander is stable, however, when it was coming in to land it caught a foot on the surface which caused it to tip. The team believes that the lander is now on its side on the surface, but is optimistic that its science payloads will still be able to operate as the majority of these are within view and some are already collecting science data. Further, the solar panels are able to take energy from the sun so power generation doesn’t look like it is going to be an issue.
