On February 15, 2024, the Odysseus spacecraft embarked on a historic journey, launching from Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It touched down on the unexplored south side of the moon on February 22, 2024, marking the first US moon landing in nearly half a century. The solar-powered Odysseus should operate on the moon’s surface for a week. This monumental achievement is underscored by the fact that only a handful of rovers have ever reached the moon’s south side, with the last one being in 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission.
The Odysseus is the first spacecraft built by a private company that has landed on the moon. Houston-based Intuitive Machines built it with funding from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Aljazeera states that ‘‘NASA administrator Bill Nelson described the landing as a ‘triumph for humanity’ and a ‘new adventure in science, innovation and American leadership in space.’’’ The robot has “[taken] six NASA payloads along for the ride, and their data will prepare us for future human exploration of the Moon under Artemis.” (NASA)
Only five countries have made it to the Moon in the history of space travel: the Soviet Union (now known as Russia), the United States, India, China, and Japan. Over 50 years ago, countries were fighting to get mankind on the Moon, but today, there is no reason to, due to the time and price of Moon missions, combined with the fact that so many countries have already been there. In fact, according to The Planetary Society, “The United States spent $25.8 billion on Project Apollo between 1960 and 1973, or approximately $257 billion when adjusted for inflation to 2020 dollars.” The last time mankind was on the Moon was in 1972, three years after Neil Armstrong landed on it.
One might ask, “Since sending humans to the Moon is too expensive, why are landers better?” NASA explains that the robots “help build new structures, perform inspections, gather data from previously unexplored areas…” If the government were to send hundreds of robots and rovers to the same spot, it would not help gain new evidence. For this reason, space organizations send these robots to different locations on the moon that a previous rover may not have found if they were in a different place.
The Odysseus is the first robot the US sent to the Moon in over five decades. This is because robots are cheaper and can take in more information and send it immediately to the Earth. Space is so untouched, and we are not significant in the universe because of its vast majority, but what we can do is explore to find more things that help humanity grow.
Sources:
Odysseus Lands on the Moon – NASA
US pulls off first moon landing since 1972 with spacecraft Odysseus | News | Al Jazeera
