Calay News
On Thursday, Intuitive Machines endeavored to become the first private company to land on the Moon, marking the first lunar landing by a US probe in over 50 years.
The lunar landing is scheduled for 23:24 GMT, 17:24 in Houston, where the company’s control center is located. The Nova-C landing module, carrying NASA scientific experiments, entered lunar orbit last Wednesday after taking off from Florida last week.
The descent, lasting about an hour, will be guided by cameras and lasers. The lunar landing module, named Nova-C, will be fully autonomous during its vertical descent from an altitude of 30 meters.
Success in this mission would not only be a milestone for the private space sector but also the first lunar landing by a US probe since the end of the Apollo program in 1972.
The chosen landing site is about 300 kilometers from the lunar south pole, in the Malapert A crater, known to contain water in the form of ice. This region is of particular interest to NASA, which is planning to send astronauts to the Moon in 2026 with the Artemis program.
Intuitive Machines, one of the companies selected by NASA’s CLPS program, has invested $118 million in this mission, transporting both private cargo and NASA scientific instruments.
The mission aims to reduce costs for the public agency and promote the development of the space economy, despite the risks. This initiative aligns with NASA’s new approach, entrusting private companies with transporting scientific material to the Moon.
