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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Odysseus on the Moon
NASA ^
| 2 Mar, 2024
| Image Credit: Intuitive Machines
Posted on 03/02/2024 2:06:50 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: Methalox rocket engine firing, Odysseus' landing legs absorb first contact with the lunar surface in this wide-angle snapshot from a camera on board the robotic Intuitive Machines Nova-C moon lander. Following the landing on February 22, broken landing legs, visible in the image, ultimately left the lander at rest but tilted. Odysseus' gentle lean into a sloping lunar surface preserved the phone booth-sized lander's ability to operate, collect solar power, and return images and data to Earth. Its exact landing site in the Moon's far south polar region was imaged by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Donated by NASA, the American flag seen on the lander's central panel is 1970 Apollo program flight hardware.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
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To: MtnClimber
2
posted on
03/02/2024 2:07:06 PM PST
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page. More photos added.)
To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; Agatsu77; America_Right; ...
Pinging the APOD list.
🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔
3
posted on
03/02/2024 2:07:37 PM PST
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page. More photos added.)
To: MtnClimber
4
posted on
03/02/2024 2:15:32 PM PST
by
Steely Tom
([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
To: MtnClimber
A broken landing leg. A damned piece of extensible tubing.
Inexcusable. Making a a friggin' tube isn't exactly cutting edge 2023 technology.
(Someone f***ed up badly on an otherwise spectacularly successful mission).
On the plus side, we still got done at a comparable budget to other entire nations a landing with a privately funded launch and privately funded lander...
5
posted on
03/02/2024 2:41:02 PM PST
by
verum ago
(I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
To: verum ago
How do we know it’s not Pilot error?
6
posted on
03/02/2024 2:57:15 PM PST
by
smokingfrog
( sleep with one eye open (<o> --- )
To: smokingfrog
7
posted on
03/02/2024 3:03:11 PM PST
by
smokingfrog
( sleep with one eye open (<o> --- )
To: MtnClimber
8
posted on
03/02/2024 3:06:28 PM PST
by
Scarlett156
(#FREEDOM and our Constitutional Republic. )
To: MtnClimber
Spindly-looking legs. Chinese titanium? Ok, kidding about that, but would it have imposed prohibitive costs on the mission to have gone with a 300% over-rated design? (Or was the closing velocity higher than nominal?)
9
posted on
03/02/2024 3:15:37 PM PST
by
steve86
(Numquam accusatus, numquam ad curiam ibit, numquam ad carcerem™)
To: verum ago
They had to build the thing as light as possible to save fuel. Add that to the unintended lateral velocity of 2 mph upon landing, and the low gravity causing it to flip when one of the legs caught on a rock or something, so the current theory goes. Whatever happened was likely not just one person’s fault.
To: steve86
Nothing a little duct tape won’t fix.
11
posted on
03/02/2024 3:20:54 PM PST
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page. More photos added.)
To: verum ago
More DEI-controlled development, manufacturing, and quality control...
12
posted on
03/02/2024 4:10:32 PM PST
by
SuperLuminal
(Where is the next Sam Adams when we so desperately need him)
To: MtnClimber
Does anyone at NASA have a AAA card?
13
posted on
03/02/2024 4:56:06 PM PST
by
jonascord
(First rule of the Dunning-Kruger Club is that you do not know you are in the Dunning-Kruger club.)
To: verum ago
If NASA were smart they would have the guy taking the picture fix it and put it back up right. Geesh. I have to do all the thinking for them...
14
posted on
03/02/2024 6:27:30 PM PST
by
Organic Panic
(Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes.)
To: Telepathic Intruder
unintended lateral velocity of 2 mph upon landing
Oof, I hadn't heard that the lateral was that high. Almost 3 ft/s. Yeah, that could cause problems. Still remarkable that they were able to just patch in the NASA LiDAR to replace their bad nav lasers and land anyway.
15
posted on
03/02/2024 6:35:21 PM PST
by
verum ago
(I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
To: Organic Panic
If NASA were smart they would have the guy taking the picture fix it and put it back up right. Geesh. I have to do all the thinking for them...
He's too busy trying to find a ride home...
16
posted on
03/02/2024 6:35:52 PM PST
by
verum ago
(I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
To: verum ago
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