Odysseus lunar lander survives tilted moon landing thanks to NASA experiment

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The mission had faced a major technical glitch that could have doomed the lander if not for two lucky breaks and a stroke of genius.

Steve Altemus, CEO and cofounder of Intuitive Machines, uses a model to represent how the Odysseus spacecraft landed on the moon.The Odysseus lunar lander, built by Intuitive Machines, is not standing upright on the moon as the company had initially claimed. Instead, it is lying on its side after snagging one of its legs on a rock during its

But then, a stroke of genius struck. The lander had another sensor on board, a NASA experiment called SPLICE, which used a camera and a computer to create a 3D map of the terrain below. Could they use that to guide the lander instead? The improvised navigation system worked. The lander avoided the obstacles and touched down on the moon, becoming the first commercial lunar lander ever and the first NASA-sponsored mission to land on the moon since 1972.

 

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