The Intuitive Machines’s IM-1 Nova-C moon lander is currently set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) at 12:57 a.m. EST (0557 GMT). The lander, named Odysseus, carries 12 payloads, half of which are commercial and the others from NASA

In February 2024, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander Odysseus will carry four tiny NASA cameras to the moon to collect imagery of how the surface interacts with the spacecraft’s engine plume. The lander will also carry up to five NASA-sponsored instruments and payloads from other customers, including EagleCAM. The lander’s data could inform future missions. 

The Nova-C lander is designed to carry up to 130 kilograms (287 pounds) of payload to the lunar surface. The lander will operate for one lunar day, which is equivalent to about 14 Earth days

Lunar landers are designed to land on the moon’s surface and withstand its unique conditions. These conditions include a lack of atmosphere and high temperatures

Lunar landers can be used to:

• Test technology The moon is an excellent place to test flight capabilities, life support systems, and exploration techniques. 
• Carry out experiments Lunar landers can carry out experiments on the lunar surface with scientific payloads. 
• Enable future exploration Lunar landers can enable future robotic and human exploration. For example, the Blue Moon lander can deliver, host, and deploy payloads like rovers, scientific tools, or astronauts to the moon’s surface. As of 2023, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have been used in human spaceflight

A lander is a spacecraft that lands on a planet or moon and stays there at rest.Landers are built to descend toward and come to rest on a planet or moon usually transporting something to the surface.Landers gather information passively since they can not move.

A rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move and explore the surface of a planet or moon. Rovers are typically created to land on another planet (other than Earth) via a lander-style spacecraft. Rovers actively explore the surface of the body on which they land. Rovers are tasked to collect information about the terrain, and to take crust samples such as dust, soil, rocks, and even liquids.

Yes, in February 2024, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander Odysseus will carry four tiny NASA cameras to the moon. The cameras will collect imagery of how the moon’s surface changes due to interactions with the spacecraft’s engine plume. 

The lander, named Odysseus, is scheduled to launch on February 14, 2024 at 12:57 AM EST from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The lander will land in the South Pole region of the moon, near the lunar feature Malapert A. 

The lander will carry 12 payloads, half of which are commercial and the others from NASA. The lander’s mission objective is to place it at crater Malapert A near the south pole of the moon.

The Odysseus Lander is a hexagonal cylinder that is 4 meters tall and 1.57 meters wide. It has a launch mass of 1908 kg and can carry about 100 kg of payload to the surface

As of February 24, 2024, Intuitive Machines IM-2 is expected to be launched in March 2024.

The Nova-C is a series of lunar landers designed by Intuitive Machines to deliver small commercial payloads to the moon’s surface

In May 2019, NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program selected the Nova-C to deliver up to five payloads to Oceanus Procellarum by July 2021. The mission’s target was later shifted to the south polar region in early 2023. 

The Nova-C is part of a three-planned lunar landing initiative under NASA’s aim to support sustainable human presence and commercial development on the moon.

Full article source google

Please like subscribe comment your precious thoughts on universe discoveries

Apple vision pro on heavy discount on Amazon