First Commercial Lunar Lander 'Odysseus' Enters Permanent Hibernation

‘Odysseus,’ the first commercial lander to land on the moon, has permanently ceased operations due to power issues.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

According to AFP and other sources on the 24th (local time), Intuitive Machines, the U.S. company that developed Odysseus, stated, “We have determined that Odysseus will not be able to complete any further communications due to power problems,” adding, “This confirms that Odysseus has permanently ceased to exist.”

Earlier, Intuitive Machines had reported that when Odysseus landed on the moon last month, one of its legs got caught on a protruding part of the surface, causing it to fall and lie on its side. They explained that only the solar panels attached to the lander that are oriented horizontally toward the sky and parallel to the surface are functioning normally, while the vertically oriented panels may have difficulty charging with solar power.

The company hoped that Odysseus could dramatically resume operations like Japan’s lunar probe ‘SLIM,’ but AFP reported that this did not happen.

Intuitive Machines plans two more lunar exploration missions this year. These are part of the ‘Commercial Lunar Payload Services’ (CLPS) program linked to NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration project. CLPS is a program through which NASA utilizes private companies to conduct unmanned lunar exploration at relatively low costs.

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