Odysseus, the robotic lunar probe of the private Houston company Intuitive Machines, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Space Center. Kennedy in Florida.

If all goes according to plan, Odysseus will touch down near the moon’s south pole on February 22, becoming the first private spacecraft in history to land on the moon. The success would also be a major milestone for the United States, which has not landed on the surface of the moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission more than half a century ago.

Falcon 9 launched from pad 39A. After approximately 7.5 minutes, the rocket’s first stage returned to Earth for a vertical landing at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, which is adjacent to the NASA facility. It was the 18th launch and landing for this SpaceX launch vehicle, reports Space.com.

Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 upper stage continued to gain altitude, eventually deploying Odysseus into a lunar transition orbit about 48.5 minutes after launch, as planned.

The 675-kilogram descending apparatus made contact with the flight control center for the first time a few minutes after takeoff. Soon, Odysseus will begin moving into lunar orbit – which will take six days. The rover will then prepare for its historic landing attempt, which will take place at Malapert A, a small crater located about 300 kilometers from the moon’s south pole.

The Odysseus instruments are designed to collect data that will help NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a base near the moon’s south pole by the late 2020s. The region is believed to be rich in water ice, which could support Artemis astronauts on the surface, as well as be processed into rocket fuel that would allow crews to refuel spacecraft far from Earth.

On board the Odysseus are six NASA instruments worth $118 million. According to representatives of the agency, the development and creation of scientific equipment cost the agency another 11 million dollars.

• ROLSES (Radio Observation of the Lunar Surface Photoelectron Shell) will characterize the electron plasma and radio environment near the IM-1 landing site;
• The LRA (Laser Retro-Reflector Array), a tiny array of reflectors, will be a guide to help future landers make a precise landing on the Moon;
• The NDL (Navigational Doppler Leader for Precision Velocity and Range) will use LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to collect high-precision data during the descent and landing of Odysseus;
• SCALPSS (Lunar Plume and Surface Studies Stereo Cameras) will study how the Odysseus exhaust plume interacts with lunar soil and rocks during landing, gathering data that can be used in the design of future Artemis landers;
• LN-1 (Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator), a small radio navigation beacon, will demonstrate autonomous spacecraft positioning technology that could aid future rovers and landers and eventually become part of a larger GPS-like system on and around the Moon;
• The RFMG (Radio Frequency Mass Gauge) will use radio waves to measure the amount of fuel in the Odysseus tank, which is difficult to do in microgravity.

Odysseus also carries six commercial cargoes for various clients, including Columbia Sportswear, which will be testing its Omni-Heat Infinity insulation material.

Other private cargo includes a set of sculptures by artist Jeff Koons and a “lunar safe depository” that aims to help preserve all human knowledge should something terrible happen to Earth.

IM-1 also flies the EagleCam, built by students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. This camera system will deploy from Odysseus as it nears the lunar surface and attempt to photograph the moment the lander touches down.

SpaceX is moving from Delaware to Texas

Elon Musk began moving his business out of Delaware after a judge in that state invalidated his $55 billion Tesla pay package. In a post on X, Musk announced that SpaceX had moved its corporate home from Delaware to Texas, along with a copy of the certificate of conversion he received from the Texas Secretary of State. “If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible,” Musk added.

SpaceX had his fortune from the removal from Delaware to Texas!

If your company remains established in Delaware, I am sure to move to another state as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/B7FLByL2dY

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 15, 2024

He also moved Neuralink’s business from Delaware to Nevada on Feb. 8, shortly after announcing that the company had implanted a brain chip in a human patient for the first time. With the location change, Neuralink joins another company Musk controls in the state: X, which he also moved from Delaware when it changed its name from Twitter in 2023, Engadget reports.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink implanted a chip in the human brain for the first time – it is called Telepathy

However, unlike SpaceX and Neuralink, Tesla will likely take some time to transfer its registration. Musk still needs to get shareholder votes to do so. It’s worth noting that both Tesla and SpaceX already have a significant presence in Texas. Tesla moved its physical headquarters to Texas from California due to safety measures put in place during the time of COVID-19. The state has a Gigafactory that produces the company’s vehicles, including the Cybertruck. Meanwhile, Boca Chica, Texas is home to SpaceX Starbase, where the Starship is manufactured and tested.

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