Odysseus Lunar Lander
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
Odysseus Lunar Lander
Launched on a Falcon 9 last week, due to attempt its lunar landing tonight.
Odysseus, @Int_Machines’ uncrewed Moon lander, is targeted to touch down at the lunar South Pole at 5:30pm ET (2230 UTC) Feb. 22. Watch live with us as this Moon delivery brings science instruments to study the region.
https://go.nasa.gov/49Dw6bW
Odysseus, @Int_Machines’ uncrewed Moon lander, is targeted to touch down at the lunar South Pole at 5:30pm ET (2230 UTC) Feb. 22. Watch live with us as this Moon delivery brings science instruments to study the region.
https://go.nasa.gov/49Dw6bW
Touch down confirmed. Just waiting for telemetry data and photos to be broadcast. Good job well done.
NASA managed to provide live video from the Apollo landings. You'd think it would be easy now?
D
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
They’re a commercial organisation selling ride-share slots, not a TV station - if NASA want video they’ll have to pay.
IM are building a lunar comms satellite network as well as lunar landers, rovers and hoppers as well as delivery to lunar orbit.
Big player with little visibility just because they use SpaceX instead of building their own rockets.
https://www.intuitivemachines.com/lunar-access-services
https://spaceref.com/press-release/n...loads-in-2024/
IM are building a lunar comms satellite network as well as lunar landers, rovers and hoppers as well as delivery to lunar orbit.
Big player with little visibility just because they use SpaceX instead of building their own rockets.
https://www.intuitivemachines.com/lunar-access-services
https://spaceref.com/press-release/n...loads-in-2024/
Yes, well done. But disappointing that there was nothing at all to watch Despite all the YouTube channels advertising 'Watch the Landing' all I saw was the control room and cgi animations (or is there video and I missed it).
NASA managed to provide live video from the Apollo landings. You'd think it would be easy now?
NASA managed to provide live video from the Apollo landings. You'd think it would be easy now?
If you watched the Apollo landings on TV at the time you actually got pretty much the same presentation as last night - one or two wide angle views of the Mission Operations Control Room, plus the odd (sometimes very odd) animation and the occasional glimpse of the pundits in the studio...
The Apollo LM descent and landing footage that has made it into the various documentaries, films and onto the web over the years was taken with a film camera looking out of the LM pilot's window....that film was returned to Earth and got released to the news agencies maybe a week or so after the landing.
Live TV coverage from the surface itself actually started well after the landing, usually shortly after the commencement of the first EVA.
FWIW the last three Apollo missions carried the Lunar Rover which had an TV system completely independent from the LM. That was left operating after the astronauts has stepped off the surface for the last time and so was able to provide live footage of the LM liftoff from the Lunar Surface.
Last edited by wiggy; 23rd Feb 2024 at 12:51.
There was never any live video of the actual Apollo landings as viewed from the spacecraft.
If you watched the Apollo landings on TV at the time you actually got pretty much the same presentation as last night - one or two wide angle views of the Mission Operations Control Room, plus the odd (sometimes very odd) animation and the occasional glimpse of the pundits in the studio...
The Apollo LM descent and landing footage that has made it into the various documentaries, films and onto the web over the years was taken with a film camera looking out of the LM pilot's window....that film was returned to Earth and got released to the news agencies maybe a week or so after the landing.
Live TV coverage from the surface itself actually started well after the landing, usually shortly after the commencement of the first EVA.
FWIW the last three Apollo missions carried the Lunar Rover which had an TV system completely independent from the LM. That was left operating after the astronauts has stepped off the surface for the last time and so was able to provide live footage of the LM liftoff from the Lunar Surface.
CBS Apollo 11....
If you watched the Apollo landings on TV at the time you actually got pretty much the same presentation as last night - one or two wide angle views of the Mission Operations Control Room, plus the odd (sometimes very odd) animation and the occasional glimpse of the pundits in the studio...
The Apollo LM descent and landing footage that has made it into the various documentaries, films and onto the web over the years was taken with a film camera looking out of the LM pilot's window....that film was returned to Earth and got released to the news agencies maybe a week or so after the landing.
Live TV coverage from the surface itself actually started well after the landing, usually shortly after the commencement of the first EVA.
FWIW the last three Apollo missions carried the Lunar Rover which had an TV system completely independent from the LM. That was left operating after the astronauts has stepped off the surface for the last time and so was able to provide live footage of the LM liftoff from the Lunar Surface.
CBS Apollo 11....
) ...and I can remember watching what seemed to be interminable footage of the moon surface passing slowly underneath a spacecraft. That could have been from the orbiter rather than the landing module and I don't remember which mission it was but I'm sure it was live. It was too boring to be a documentary.
Either way it was 50 years ago now and was assuming we'd get to see some similar but less blurry footage.
I take ORAC's point about this being a commercial operation and I can see that there's much less general interest now so I guess it wasn't worth the candle.
Yes, well done. But disappointing that there was nothing at all to watch Despite all the YouTube channels advertising 'Watch the Landing' all I saw was the control room and cgi animations (or is there video and I missed it).
NASA managed to provide live video from the Apollo landings. You'd think it would be easy now?
D
NASA managed to provide live video from the Apollo landings. You'd think it would be easy now?
D
netstruggler
"I take ORAC's point about this being a commercial operation and I can see that there's much less general interest now so I guess it wasn't worth the candle."
Lack of real time imagery last night might have been down to commercial and cost reasons, but OTOH maybe it could have been down to the data/bandwidth availableand what took priority.
I'm certainly looking forward to seeing if the Eaglecam snapped anything...fingers crossed..
https://erau.edu/eaglecam
"I take ORAC's point about this being a commercial operation and I can see that there's much less general interest now so I guess it wasn't worth the candle."
Lack of real time imagery last night might have been down to commercial and cost reasons, but OTOH maybe it could have been down to the data/bandwidth availableand what took priority.
I'm certainly looking forward to seeing if the Eaglecam snapped anything...fingers crossed..
https://erau.edu/eaglecam
netstruggler:
"I take ORAC's point about this being a commercial operation and I can see that there's much less general interest now so I guess it wasn't worth the candle."
Might be a cost thing, OTOH it could be that data capacity /bandwidth might have been limiting - only enough for the essentials, not for imaging..
Anyhow hoping that the Eaglecam worked as planned, if it did those images will be spectacular...fingers crossed.
https://erau.edu/eaglecam
"I take ORAC's point about this being a commercial operation and I can see that there's much less general interest now so I guess it wasn't worth the candle."
Might be a cost thing, OTOH it could be that data capacity /bandwidth might have been limiting - only enough for the essentials, not for imaging..
Anyhow hoping that the Eaglecam worked as planned, if it did those images will be spectacular...fingers crossed.
https://erau.edu/eaglecam
I believe Neil Armstrong stepping off Apollo 11 onto the moon was broadcast live (other beliefs are available )
...and I can remember watching what seemed to be interminable footage of the moon surface passing slowly underneath a spacecraft. That could have been from the orbiter rather than the landing module and I don't remember which mission it was but I'm sure it was live. It was too boring to be a documentary.
Either way it was 50 years ago now and was assuming we'd get to see some similar but less blurry footage.
I take ORAC's point about this being a commercial operation and I can see that there's much less general interest now so I guess it wasn't worth the candle.
)...and I can remember watching what seemed to be interminable footage of the moon surface passing slowly underneath a spacecraft. That could have been from the orbiter rather than the landing module and I don't remember which mission it was but I'm sure it was live. It was too boring to be a documentary.
Either way it was 50 years ago now and was assuming we'd get to see some similar but less blurry footage.
I take ORAC's point about this being a commercial operation and I can see that there's much less general interest now so I guess it wasn't worth the candle.
Ref the previously mentioned Eaglecam...according to a press release sadly it wasn't deployed before touchdown.
"EagleCam Update: Camera System Deployment ForthcomingDue to complications with Odysseus’ internal navigation system — specifically concerning the software patch to navigation data to include NASA’s NDL (Navigation Doppler Lidar) payload, which is meant to ensure a soft landing — the decision was made to power down EagleCam during landing and not deploy the device during Odysseus’ final descent.
However, both the Intuitive Machines and EagleCam teams still plan to deploy EagleCam and capture images of the lander on the lunar surface as the mission continues.
The time of deployment is currently unknown.
Stay tuned! More information will be released as soon as it becomes available."
https://news.erau.edu/headlines/eagl...-lands-on-moon
"EagleCam Update: Camera System Deployment ForthcomingDue to complications with Odysseus’ internal navigation system — specifically concerning the software patch to navigation data to include NASA’s NDL (Navigation Doppler Lidar) payload, which is meant to ensure a soft landing — the decision was made to power down EagleCam during landing and not deploy the device during Odysseus’ final descent.
However, both the Intuitive Machines and EagleCam teams still plan to deploy EagleCam and capture images of the lander on the lunar surface as the mission continues.
The time of deployment is currently unknown.
Stay tuned! More information will be released as soon as it becomes available."
https://news.erau.edu/headlines/eagl...-lands-on-moon
It tripped. Face planted. Snagged a rock and is now in a position previously managed by the Japanese but without the major engine failure.
"I've fallen and I can't get up."
At least the Japanese managed to have the pop-away camera so that the plight of the main platform was clearly known.
"I've fallen and I can't get up."
At least the Japanese managed to have the pop-away camera so that the plight of the main platform was clearly known.
It has been reported that they had an external camera but did not deploy it.
I wonder if a self-righting feature, such as performing a last-second jets-upward flipover, with a hemispherical lander base giving a low centre of gravity, might solve their puzzle of how to get the thing to stand upright? Or would thick lunar sand make that a no-go? They would have problems taking off again on later missions, that's for sure.
I wonder if a self-righting feature, such as performing a last-second jets-upward flipover, with a hemispherical lander base giving a low centre of gravity, might solve their puzzle of how to get the thing to stand upright? Or would thick lunar sand make that a no-go? They would have problems taking off again on later missions, that's for sure.
....wonder if a self-righting feature, such as performing a last-second jets-upward flipover, with a hemispherical lander base giving a low centre of gravity, might solve their puzzle of how to get the thing to stand upright?.
"Or would thick lunar sand make that a no-go?"
Luna 9
.
Last edited by wiggy; 24th Feb 2024 at 07:39.
No like button here, so thank you kindly for the considered responses.
From what I can gather one of the biggest problems in the polar areas is that it's very rocky and uneven. The earlier missions had the luxury of choosing flat open areas, but even then Neil Armstrong had to take manual control to avoid a rocky area.
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There were a whole raft of reasons unrelated to terrain as to why high latitude sites can be tricky to access, especially if the arrival will be preceded by a period in lunar orbit, some of it tied in with facets of orbital mechanics, some of it down to requirements for tracking of a lander either pre-landing or in the event of a return, on the climb-out..it’s also fair to say until the last couple of decades the very high latitude areas weren’t well mapped in 3D.
What has changed matters in the recent years is the suspicion there may be easily available water at high latitudes, so the potential rewards of going to the poles outweigh the increased difficulty of landing there verses landing at equatorial sites.
I suppose the answer to your question might be that the designers were confident their fancy automated landing system could sense and avoid landing on a spot where the slope was > 10 degrees..I’m only guessing but maybe having a need to cater for a higher tilt limit would place undesirable constraints on other aspects of the landers design….
The report is it was still going sideways when one or more landing legs hit a rock or other obstruction causing it to flip.