The special mission that wants to land on the moon sends back amazing images

Intuitive Machines' IM-1 mission is proceeding as planned, while promoters watch. moon road, The Odysseus lander sent back stunning images of Earth.

It is the first lunar mission by a private company Intuitive machinesBut he wants to break some records. It has already surpassed one: it is the first ship to do so It was turned on In space drive liquid methane and oxygen. This step was essential, because this was the engine that would allow it The moon landing, if all goes well, will be on February 22.

For NASA, this mission is vital, because it was launched a few years ago CLPS InitiativeWith the aim of supporting special missions to moonIn exchange for transferring experiments to NASA.

The first mission ended poorly, after Astrobotic's Peregrine module suffered an engine failure that diverted it off course. A second failure would be a disaster.

The first private mission that can land on the moon

The IM-1 mission was launched on February 14 On a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Everything went well: the Odysseus Nova C module separated from the rocket after leaving Earth orbit, and I was able to send you some beautiful pictures of the Earth:

Currently, the module is about 270,000 kilometers from Earth, on its way to the Moon.

They have already succeeded in powering engines with a fuel used for the first time in space: liquid methane and oxygen. This engine is necessary to guide the ship to the moon, and brake before landing.

It is located inside Odysseus Twelve experiments From different universities and companies, six of which are from NASA. In addition, the landing will be recorded for the first time with 3D cameras.

If everything goes as it is now The Odysseus module of the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission will land on the Moon on February 22. This will be the first private mission to achieve this, after Peregrine's failure, and a special Japanese mission. good luck!