When I wrote about the moon landing yesterday i noted that a previous attempt by Japan, which took place just a month ago, had landed on the surface upside down.
Yesterday when the Odysseus lander reached the surface of the moon there was some confusion. For several minutes mission control didn’t have communications with Odysseus and couldn’t say what had happened. Eventually, they identified a weak signal which meant the lander was on the moon and alive. This was treated as a success by the company, Intuitive Machines, and by NASA.
But this afternoon in what appears to be a Friday news dump, IM has revealed that they believe the lander tipped over and is currently resting on its side on the moon’s surface. It’s not ideal but it’s not as bad as it sounds. At least that’s what we’re being told.
The chief executive officer of Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which built and flew the…
