A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched a robotic spacecraft yesterday, destined for the moon. Scheduled to touch down on February 22, the mission aims to achieve the first US lunar soft landing since the Apollo era.
Developed by Intuitive Machines under NASA’s Artemis program, the Odysseus spacecraft is equipped with a suite of instruments designed to explore the moon’s south polar region.
It carries technologies designed to study lunar dust and search for potential water ice. The mission seeks to return astronauts to the moon.
Meanwhile, in other lunar news
Japan’s unmanned spacecraft, Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), has achieved a remarkable feat by analyzing 10 lunar rocks, offering valuable insights into the moon’s origins.
The SLIM used its advanced camera to study rock composition during its four-day lunar surface mission and successfully transmitted data about the rocks—each named after a dog breed such as ‘Akitainu,’ ‘Beagle’ and ‘Shibainu.’