The US is preparing for a historic Valentine's Day moon mission, weeks after its $108 million failure

THE Nova-C Odysseus probe will prepare to make history on Valentine's Day as the first private lunar lander to land on the moon.

The lander, built by Texas-based Intuitive Machines, will launch on Wednesday (February 14) before embarking on a week-long mission to the moon's surface.

2

It comes just weeks after the US lunar lander Peregrine failed to reach the surface due to a fuel leak.

Peregrine Falcon disintegrated upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere just ten days after launch.

If successful, Odysseus will not only be the first private moon landing, but also the first American moon landing in 50 years.

The spacecraft, which weighs 675 kg, will lift off aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 5:57 a.m. GMT (12:57 p.m. ET).

Odysseus can then attempt a moon landing on February 22.

Intuitive Machines is targeting a crater near the south pole, known as Malapert A, as its landing site.

Once it reaches the surface, Odysseus will operate for only two weeks, or one lunar night.

Twelve payloads are on board the lander, including a next-gen system with four cameras to record the journey to the surface and landing sensors built in Britain by a company called MDA.

“As interest in lunar exploration grows around the world, this mission will see Intuitive Machines and MDA UK play a key role in developing services that will be an integral part of NASA's Artemis programme, contributing to the science that continues to will improve our understanding of the moon and how we can sustainably interact with it to support future human missions,” said UK Space Agency chief Paul Bate.

“With funding from the UK Space Agency, MDA UK is developing crucial technologies – such as the rangefinder that will help guide the mission's spacecraft to the moon's south pole – which is another example of how UK-based expertise is increasingly sought after for international science and research. reconnaissance missions.”

This latest move to the moon is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which aims to engage commercial companies in the exploration of the lunar surface.

This initiative will allow the US space agency to focus on its Artemis program and make space for the moon in the coming years.

People on the moon

In recent years, NASA has channeled its efforts (and money) into getting astronauts back on the moon.

It's part of a decade-long program that hopes to culminate in a permanent moon base, which NASA could build by the end of this decade.

As part of this mission, the space agency has tapped private industry to get involved in rocket launches and lunar landers.

It has outsourced a number of tasks to private industry, such as designing and manufacturing the next generation of space suits – and the mammoth task of replacing the International Space Station.

Despite this outsourcing, NASA has postponed the manned Artemis Moon missions to 2025 and beyond because the agency needs more time to make its rocket technology safe.

Concerns about NASA's Space Launch System rocket mean the first manned moon landing in more than 50 years will happen next year, according to the new schedule shared last month.

NASA's new Artemis timeline:

• Artemis II (the first mission) moved from 2024 to September 2025.
• Artemis III moved from September 2025 to September 2026.

The Artemis IV mission that will take humans to the Gateway space station on the moon in 2028 is still on schedule, the US space agency said.

NASA's Space Launch System rocket had already suffered a decade of setbacks before it first rolled onto the launch pad in May 2022.

“We let the hardware talk to us so that crew safety drives our decision-making,” said Catherine Koerner, Associate Administrator of NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

“We will use the Artemis II flight test and every flight that follows to reduce risk for future lunar missions.”