Odysseus’ historic moon mission comes to an end
The spindly lunar lander lost power and shut down February 28, and could not be reawakened
By Adam Mann
Updated
Odysseus has exceeded engineers’ expectations during its odyssey on the moon. NASA confirmed that the spindly solar-powered robotic lander, built and operated by the Houston-based private U.S. company Intuitive Machines, was alive and collecting data after it touched down, and toppled over, on the lunar surface on February 22.
“What a magnificent job that lander did,” said Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus during a NASA news briefing on February 28. “So much data and information and science. It’s just an incredible testament to how robust that little spacecraft is, so we’re really happy with that.”
The spacecraft, which carried payloads from universities, industry and NASA, was the first American spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the moon in more than 50 years (SN: 2/22/24). As Odysseus, or Odie as it’s nicknamed, was slowly running out of power, scientists put it into sleep mode February 28, after roughly six days on the lunar surface. Engineers tried multiple times to reawaken the spacecraft a few weeks later but, on March 23, flight controllers concluded that its batteries had been too degraded by the cold lunar night and that the mission had come to a close.
“Odie has permanently faded after cementing its legacy into history as the first commercial lunar lander to land on the moon,” the company posted on X (formerly Twitter).