Watch | SpaceX Falcon 9 completes its 300th mission, Elon Musk is elated
‘Gen AI will not lead to hiring decline’ Earlier this month on February 15, Houston-based aerospace company, Intuitive Machines, successfully launched its moon lander, the Nova-C lander named Odysseus, from Florida. The mission marked the first US lunar touchdown in over half a century and the initial one by a privately owned spacecraft, Reuters reported.
The Nova-C lander, Odysseus, took off shortly after 1 am EST (0600 GMT) atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket provided by SpaceX, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. A live online video feed from NASA and SpaceX displayed the 25-story rocket lifting off, creating a fiery yellowish plume of exhaust over Florida's Atlantic coast.
Also Read | Gurman uncovers mixed reactions to Apple Vision Pro release, sheds light on return rates Odysseus is expected to reach its destination near the moon's south pole on February 22, after a weeklong flight. A successful landing would represent the first controlled descent by a US spacecraft since the final Apollo mission in 1972 and the first by a private company.
Intuitive Machines plans further lunar missions, with IM-2 scheduled to land at the lunar south pole in 2024, followed by an IM-3 mission later in the year with small rovers. Also Read | Xiaomi 14 confirmed to launch in India: Expected specs, price and everything we know so far This mission aligns with NASA's strategy of leveraging private companies to reduce costs for the Artemis program, which aims to precede human exploration of Mars.
In contrast to the Apollo era, where NASA owned and operated technology, the Artemis missions involved purchasing services from private companies. (With inputs from Reuters)Milestone Alert!
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