IM-1 lunar lander touchdown set for Thursday. Track it live here!



Watch the IM-1 lunar lander touchdown on Thursday in the livestream above.

Odie’s epic journey going smoothly

So far, everything is going as planned with the IM-1 mission to the moon. According to the Intuitive Machines X account, the lunar lander Odysseus – Odie to his friends – is scheduled to arrive at the moon at 4:49 p.m. CST (22:49 UTC) on Thursday, February 22, 2024.

At present, Odie is gliding across space between Earth and its target. Unlike its namesake’s journey home from the Trojan War, the IM-1 mission progress has been smooth sailing.

The dedicated spaceflight watchers at The Launch Pad Network are providing live tracking of the IM-1 mission as it approaches the moon. You can watch it via YouTube or at the player embedded above.

EarthSky lunar calendars are back in stock! And we’re guaranteed to sell out, so get one while you can. Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep going. Purchase here.

First views on the way to the moon

IM-1 took its first images, a look back at Earth, on February 16, 2024. Intuitive Machines shared these images on X/Twitter on February 17. You can follow along with their updates here or on X.

IM-1 lunar lander launched February 15

The Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 out of Kennedy Space Center on February 15. It lifted off at 1:05 a.m. Eastern Time from historic launchpad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The early morning launch was a return to lunar service for KSC’s Launch Complex 39A, which hosted all but one of the crewed Apollo missions to the moon.

If it has the right stuff, then the IM-1 lander – nicknamed Odie – could be the first American spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon’s surface since the final Apollo mission touched down in 1972.

The craft is set for a lunar landing on February 22.

IM-1 lunar lander: Golden arc of a rocket lifting off in a dark sky.
Odie heads to the moon! The IM-1 lunar lander – named Odysseus, but nicknamed Odie – launched from Kennedy Space Center early on February 15, 2024. If all goes well, it should touch down at the moon’s south polar region on February 22. Image exclusive to EarthSky via Greg Diesel-Walck.
White rocket launching straight up on a tail of white flame, with clouds of steam below. A water tower is nearby.
The IM-1 lunar lander launching from the Kennedy Space Center. Image via Greg Diesel-Walck.

Have spacecraft, will travel

While IM-1 will deliver a handful of NASA science payloads, it will be carrying commercial cargo, too. Intuitive Machines says this mission will be the first of many private payloads it will carry to Earth’s natural satellite:

IM-1 is a trailblazing mission aimed at creating a commercial lunar economy, delivering commercial payloads and NASA science and technology payloads that will pave the way for a sustainable human presence on and around the moon.

The Odysseus lander (or Odie) is a hexagonal cylinder about 13 feet (4 meters) tall and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide. The 4,200-pound (1,900-kg) vehicle can carry up to 220 pounds (100 kg) of cargo with it to the moon.

The lander is heading for the lunar south pole:

The lander will land on the moon at Malapert, a crater near the south pole. The landing will take place on February 22. The lander is capable of operating for about 14 Earth days in sunlight.

IM’s contract with NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) includes three missions total. This mission comes just one month after another private company – Astrobotic – attempted to land on the moon. That mission, Peregrine, developed a fuel leak soon after liftoff and eventually crashed back to Earth. Also last month, Japan’s space agency landed a mission on the moon, named SLIM, but it landed upside down.

Silver foil-covered spacecraft lying on its side on a yellow lift jack while a worker, tiny by comparison, watches.
Here’s the Intuitive Machines lunar lander for the IM-1 mission as it was being integrated into its payload fairing. Image via Intuitive Machines.
A rocket stands upright in sunshine next to a tall tower.
Greg Diesel Walck captured this exclusive image for EarthSky of the IM-1 lunar lander on the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center on February 13, 2024. Thank you, Greg!

Bottom line: The Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander – nicknamed Odie – will land on the moon at 4:49 p.m. CST (22:49 UTC) on Thursday, February 22, 2024.

Via Intuitive Machines

Via NASA

The post IM-1 lunar lander touchdown set for Thursday. Track it live here! first appeared on EarthSky.



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Watch the IM-1 lunar lander touchdown on Thursday in the livestream above.

Odie’s epic journey going smoothly

So far, everything is going as planned with the IM-1 mission to the moon. According to the Intuitive Machines X account, the lunar lander Odysseus – Odie to his friends – is scheduled to arrive at the moon at 4:49 p.m. CST (22:49 UTC) on Thursday, February 22, 2024.

At present, Odie is gliding across space between Earth and its target. Unlike its namesake’s journey home from the Trojan War, the IM-1 mission progress has been smooth sailing.

The dedicated spaceflight watchers at The Launch Pad Network are providing live tracking of the IM-1 mission as it approaches the moon. You can watch it via YouTube or at the player embedded above.

EarthSky lunar calendars are back in stock! And we’re guaranteed to sell out, so get one while you can. Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep going. Purchase here.

First views on the way to the moon

IM-1 took its first images, a look back at Earth, on February 16, 2024. Intuitive Machines shared these images on X/Twitter on February 17. You can follow along with their updates here or on X.

IM-1 lunar lander launched February 15

The Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 out of Kennedy Space Center on February 15. It lifted off at 1:05 a.m. Eastern Time from historic launchpad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The early morning launch was a return to lunar service for KSC’s Launch Complex 39A, which hosted all but one of the crewed Apollo missions to the moon.

If it has the right stuff, then the IM-1 lander – nicknamed Odie – could be the first American spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon’s surface since the final Apollo mission touched down in 1972.

The craft is set for a lunar landing on February 22.

IM-1 lunar lander: Golden arc of a rocket lifting off in a dark sky.
Odie heads to the moon! The IM-1 lunar lander – named Odysseus, but nicknamed Odie – launched from Kennedy Space Center early on February 15, 2024. If all goes well, it should touch down at the moon’s south polar region on February 22. Image exclusive to EarthSky via Greg Diesel-Walck.
White rocket launching straight up on a tail of white flame, with clouds of steam below. A water tower is nearby.
The IM-1 lunar lander launching from the Kennedy Space Center. Image via Greg Diesel-Walck.

Have spacecraft, will travel

While IM-1 will deliver a handful of NASA science payloads, it will be carrying commercial cargo, too. Intuitive Machines says this mission will be the first of many private payloads it will carry to Earth’s natural satellite:

IM-1 is a trailblazing mission aimed at creating a commercial lunar economy, delivering commercial payloads and NASA science and technology payloads that will pave the way for a sustainable human presence on and around the moon.

The Odysseus lander (or Odie) is a hexagonal cylinder about 13 feet (4 meters) tall and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide. The 4,200-pound (1,900-kg) vehicle can carry up to 220 pounds (100 kg) of cargo with it to the moon.

The lander is heading for the lunar south pole:

The lander will land on the moon at Malapert, a crater near the south pole. The landing will take place on February 22. The lander is capable of operating for about 14 Earth days in sunlight.

IM’s contract with NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) includes three missions total. This mission comes just one month after another private company – Astrobotic – attempted to land on the moon. That mission, Peregrine, developed a fuel leak soon after liftoff and eventually crashed back to Earth. Also last month, Japan’s space agency landed a mission on the moon, named SLIM, but it landed upside down.

Silver foil-covered spacecraft lying on its side on a yellow lift jack while a worker, tiny by comparison, watches.
Here’s the Intuitive Machines lunar lander for the IM-1 mission as it was being integrated into its payload fairing. Image via Intuitive Machines.
A rocket stands upright in sunshine next to a tall tower.
Greg Diesel Walck captured this exclusive image for EarthSky of the IM-1 lunar lander on the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center on February 13, 2024. Thank you, Greg!

Bottom line: The Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander – nicknamed Odie – will land on the moon at 4:49 p.m. CST (22:49 UTC) on Thursday, February 22, 2024.

Via Intuitive Machines

Via NASA

The post IM-1 lunar lander touchdown set for Thursday. Track it live here! first appeared on EarthSky.



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