Odysseus, the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon since 1972, neared the end of its fifth day on the lunar surface still operational, but the spacecraft battery in its final hours before the vehicle is expected to go dark, according to flight controllers.
The spacecraft reached the lunar surface last Thursday after an 11th-hour navigational glitch and white-knuckle descent that ended with Odysseus landing in a sideways or sharply tilted position that has hampered its communications and solar-charging capability.
Intuitive Machines posted new photos of the moon’s unexplored south polar region Tuesday.
The company’s lander, Odysseus, captured the shots last Thursday shortly before making the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years.
Intuitive Machines expects that to happen sometime between Tuesday afternoon and early Wednesday.
The mission, part of NASA’s effort to boost the lunar economy, was supposed to last until at least Thursday when lunar nighttime sets in.
NASA has six experiments on board.
Intuitive Machines is the first private business to land a spacecraft on the moon without crashing.
Another U.S. company launched its lunar lander last month, but a fuel leak doomed the mission and the craft came crashing back to Earth.
奧德修斯月球著陸器發送了一些圖像，其電池只剩下最後幾個小時了
飛行控制人員稱，奧德修斯號是自1972 年以來第一艘登陸月球的美國太空船，在月球表面運行的第五天已接近尾聲，但太空船電池在飛行前的最後幾個小時預計將變黑。
上週四，在經歷了第11 個小時的導航故障和令人緊張的下降之後，航天器到達了月球表面，最終奧德修斯以側向或急劇傾斜的位置著陸，這阻礙了其通信和太陽能充電能力。
直覺機器公司週二發布了月球未探索的南極地區的新照片。
上週四，該公司的登陸器奧德修斯在美國 50 多年來首次登陸月球之前不久拍攝了這些照片。
Intuitive Machines 預計這將發生在周二下午到週三早些時候之間的某個時間。
這項任務是美國太空總署促進月球經濟努力的一部分，預計至少持續到週四月球夜間開始時。
美國宇航局在船上有六個實驗。
Intuitive Machines 是第一家將太空船登陸月球且未墜毀的私人企業。
另一家美國公司上個月發射了月球登陸器，但燃料洩漏注定了任務的失敗，太空船墜毀返回地
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