The Moon's Schomberger Crater | Intuitive Machines' Odysseus Lunar Lander

The Moon's Schomberger Crater | Intuitive Machines' Odysseus Lunar Lander

On February 22, 2024, Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lunar lander captured a wide field of view image of Schomberger Crater on the Moon "approximately 125 miles (200 km) uprange from its intended landing site, at approximately about 6 miles (10 km) altitude." Schomberger is a prominent lunar impact crater that lies in the southern part of the Moon, in the area near the limb. 

On Feb. 22, 2024, the IM-1 Mission Nova-C Moon Lander, named "Odysseus," became the first American spacecraft to land on the Moon’s surface since the NASA Apollo 17 moon landing in 1972. It appears that the lander is in a horizontal orientation instead of a vertical one and that communication with the lander remains an issue. Intuitive Machines hopes to provide post-landing pictures and an update on the spacecraft's operational capabilities and status over the next several days.

Follow IM-1 Mission Updates: 

https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-1

China's Chang'e 3 Mission, the first Chinese landing on the Moon in 2013, was the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976.

In 2023, after the Chandrayaan-3 Lander successfully soft-landed on the Moon, India became the fourth country, after the United States, Russia and China, to accomplish this.

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative allows NASA to send science investigations and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface. Under Artemis, NASA will study more of the Moon than ever before, and CLPS will demonstrate how NASA is working with commercial companies to achieve robotic lunar exploration.

Learn more about CLPS:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/commercial-lunar-payload-services

Image Credit: Intuitive Machines

Release Date: Feb. 23, 2024

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