Intuitive Machines has reported that its historic lunar lander mission, operated by the Nova-C lander named Odysseus, is coming to an earlier-than-expected close. The lander, making the first commercial soft moon landing just last week, will soon lose solar power as it faces the impending lunar night, according to the Houston Chronicle. The Nova-C's solar arrays are not expected to bask in sunlight starting Tuesday morning, effectively ending the mission that was initially predicted to have a seven-day operational window.
The Houston Chronicle detailed that the premature conclusion of Odysseus' mission followed a challenging touchdown that left the lander tipped on its side, possibly propped by lunar terrain—contrary to expectations, Intuitive Machines had hoped for a flat resting point that would have allowed more efficient communication. The precarious position has slowed down data transmission back to Earth, and despite efforts to maximize science output before the blackout, there is little hope that the lander will revive past this point. Still, examples abound of spacecraft overcoming long odds, with Japan's SLIM lander waking from a similar darkness just recently.
An update from SpaceNews shared that despite the lander continuing to communicate with flight controllers, there's a lack of clarity on how much mission data has been retrieved beyond some initial low-resolution images. Tim Crain, chief technology officer of Intuitive Machines, indicated an expectation to "get most of the mission data down once we stabilize our configuration," though the company stopped short of providing specific data rate predictions. Moreover, technical troubles impeded the deployment of EagleCam, a student-developed payload from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which was intended to capture images of the landing, marking another hiccup in the mission's course.
Financial markets have not reacted kindly to the news of the expedited mission wrap-up as Intuitive Machines' shares took a hit, dropping by over one third in midday trading yesterday, casting a shadow on the company's stock despite still trading above pre-launch levels. Further complicating matters is the landing site's characterization by NASA, which defined it as a "sporty" 12-degree slope within a "degraded" crater, obscuring the final status of the Nova-C's payloads and potential aftereffects on operations.
