A private U.S. lunar lander reached the moon’s orbit on Wednesday, one day before it will attempt an even greater feat — touching the surface.
A lunar touchdown would put the U.S. back on the moon for the first time since 1972, the year NASA terminated the Apollo program. If all goes as planned, the Houston-based Intuitive Machines will become the first private outfit to nail a moon landing.
Launched last week atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the 6-foot NOVA-C lander fired its engine from the far side of the moon while out of contact with Earth. Flight controllers at the company’s headquarters waited in the unknown until the spacecraft emerged to discover if the lander was in orbit or hurtling aimlessly away.
The lander is part of a NASA program to invigorate the lunar economy, to the tune of $118 million for the mission to get a batch of experiments on the moon, many of which are sponsored.
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“Godspeed, Odysseus. Now let’s go make history,” said Trent Martin, vice president of the company’s space systems. The mission will terminate activity after one week on the moon’s surface.
Intuitive Machines nicknamed its lander after Homer’s hero in The Odyssey.
