4 months ago
25
Image source, NASA
Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, describes what he thinks happened during landing
The Odysseus Moon lander is likely lying on its side with its head resting against a rock.
The US spacecraft, which made history on Thursday by becoming the first ever privately built and operated robot to complete a soft lunar touchdown, is otherwise in good condition.
Its owner, Texan firm Intuitive Machines, says Odysseus has plenty of power and is communicating with Earth.
Controllers are trying to retrieve pictures from the robot.
Steve Altemus, the CEO and co-founder of IM, said it wasn't totally clear what happened but the data suggested the robot could have caught a foot on the surface and then fell because it still had some lateral motion.
"We're hopeful to get pictures and really do an assessment of the structure and assessment of all the external equipment," he told reporters.
"So far, we have quite a bit of operational capability even though we're tipped over. And so that's really exciting for us, and we are continuing the surface operations mission as a result of it."
This is a developing story and more information will follow.
Image source, NASA
Image caption,Odysseus took this photo on approach some 10km above the surface
Image source, Intuitive Machines
Image caption,Odysseus first went into orbit before making its descent
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