The last time a US mission touched down safely on the lunar surface — it was during the Apollo program — and it was a crewed mission. But this time, it is a stepping stone to crewed missions to Mars, likely not until… the mid-2030s.
Still, it is important to show… we still have “what it takes” — given that several other privately-funded missions have recently seen less-than-stellar results, in attempting soft lunar touchdowns, and operations — without glitches. Here’s the latest, for tonight’s viewing / streaming along:
. . .As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines is targeting no earlier than 5:30 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 22, to land their Odysseus lunar lander near Malapert A in the South Pole region of the Moon.
Live landing coverage will air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. NASA TV can be streamed on a variety of platforms, including social media. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 4 p.m., as the landing milestones occur. Upon successful landing, Intuitive Machines and NASA will host a news conference to discuss the mission and science opportunities that lie ahead as the company begins lunar surface operations.
In May 2019, the agency awarded a task order for scientific payload delivery to Intuitive Machines. Odysseus launched at 1:05 a.m., Feb. 15, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida….
Now you know — onward, grinning… with no news out of the able USDC Judge Ezra’s courtroom, in West Texas, yet. Be excellent to one another.
नमस्ते
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