Its mission on the lunar surface was supposed to last about seven days, but it is likely to be cut short: The American company Intuitive Machines said Tuesday morning that the batteries of its lunar lander, named Odysseus, will last only 10 to 20 more hours.
Last Thursday, Odysseus became the first private probe to land on the moon, and the first American probe to do so since the Apollo program ended more than 50 years ago.
But instead of landing upright on all six feet, Odysseus, who is more than four meters tall, likely flipped over and ended up on one side, according to the company’s analysis.
On Monday, Intuitive Machines said it would continue to recover data “until the moon’s solar panels are no longer exposed to light.”
“Due to the position of the Earth and the Moon, we believe that flight controllers will continue to communicate with Odyssey until Tuesday morning,” she added.
Then on Tuesday morning, the company released a new report that suggested the lander’s batteries could possibly still last “up to 10-20 more hours.” She said she is working to determine the exact moment of their end of life.
The probe’s ground operations were originally expected to last about seven days before night settled over the moon’s south pole.
Odysseus is the southernmost probe to land on the Moon.
The Apollo missions landed closer to the equator. However, NASA wants to explore the moon’s south pole before sending its astronauts there as part of its Artemis missions.
Therefore, he contracts with companies, including Intuitive Machines, to transport scientific instruments there.
On Tuesday, “Odysseus was efficiently transmitting science data” from its cargo, Intuitive Machines said.
The company also released a new photo taken by the probe about 30 meters above the ground before it landed on the moon.
Japan’s SLIM probe also landed sideways on the moon at the end of January. Japan’s space agency Jaxa announced Monday that it had re-ignited after surviving two weeks of harsh lunar nights.