US lunar lander sends first photo back to Earth

Intuitive Machines' autonomous spacecraft Odysseus took a few selfies with Earth shortly after launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 15.

Odysseus's selfie with Earth. Photo: Intuitive Machines — Odysseus's selfie with Earth. Photo: *Intuitive Machines*

Intuitive Machines successfully transmitted the first images from the IM-1 mission back to Earth on February 16. The series of images were taken shortly after the lander separated from the rocket's second stage during the first flight to the Moon under NASA's CLPS program, the Houston-based company shared in a post on social media X.

CLPS is the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which transports NASA scientific equipment on private landers like Odysseus. These devices are designed to collect data to support NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a human base near the Moon's south pole by the late 2020s. Odysseus carries six NASA experiments and technology testing equipment and six other private payloads on the mission, called IM-1.

IM-1 was not the first mission to launch under the CLPS program. Peregrine, a lunar lander built by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic, launched last month aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket. The launch went smoothly, but Peregrine leaked fuel shortly after separating from the rocket’s upper stage. The lander was unable to reach the moon, so the team sent it into a controlled descent through Earth’s atmosphere on January 18.

The flight went more smoothly for Odysseus. The lander performed well and communicated with mission control as it headed toward the moon for a landing on February 22. Odysseus’ various systems operated normally, including its engines. “Intuitive Machines flight controllers successfully fired the first methane and liquid oxygen engines in space, completing the engine check during the IM-1 mission,” the company announced on February 16.

If successful, the IM-1 mission will make history, as no private spacecraft has ever landed softly on the Moon. The Odysseus’s combination of methane and liquid oxygen is also used in SpaceX’s new giant rocket, Starship, which is preparing for its third test flight, which could take place in the coming weeks.

An Khang (According to Space )

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