NASA’s Historic Lunar Landing in 2024: A New Era of Space Exploration

NASA’s historic lunar landing on February 22, 2024, marked a significant milestone in space exploration. This achievement, the first successful delivery of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, brought new NASA science instruments and technology demonstrations to the Moon’s surface. The event was a testament to American leadership in space and the power of commercial partnerships.

The Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, named Odysseus, completed a seven-day journey to lunar orbit and executed procedures to softly land near Malapert A in the South Pole region of the Moon. The lander is now healthy, collecting solar power, and transmitting data back to the company’s mission control in Houston. This marked the first commercial uncrewed landing on the Moon.

Six NASA science instruments were carried aboard the lander, all of which completed transit checkouts en route to the Moon. A NASA precision landing technology demonstration also provided critical last-minute assistance to ensure a soft landing. The lunar delivery is in the region where NASA will send astronauts to search for water and other lunar resources later this decade.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson expressed his excitement about the successful landing, stating, “For the first time in more than half a century, America returned to the Moon. Congratulations to Intuitive Machines for placing the lunar lander Odysseus carrying NASA scientific instruments to a place no person or machine has gone before, the lunar South Pole.”

During the journey to the Moon, NASA instruments measured the quantity of cryogenic engine fuel as it was used and collected data on plume-surface interactions. Odysseus’ surface operations are underway and expected to take place through Thursday, February 29.

Now that they are on the lunar surface, NASA instruments will focus on investigating lunar surface interactions and radio astronomy. The Odysseus lander also carries a retroreflector array that will contribute to a network of location markers on the Moon for communication and navigation for future autonomous navigation technologies.

Additional NASA hardware aboard the lander includes the Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator, a small CubeSat-sized experiment that will demonstrate autonomous navigation that could be used by future landers, surface infrastructure, and astronauts. The Laser Retroreflector Array, a collection of eight retroreflectors, enables precision laser ranging, which is a measurement of the distance between the orbiting or landing spacecraft to the reflector on the lander. The Radio Frequency Mass Gauge measures the amount of propellant in spacecraft tanks in a low-gravity space environment. The Radio-wave Observations at the Lunar Surface of the Photoelectron Sheath instrument will observe the Moon’s surface environment in radio frequencies, to determine how natural and human-generated activity near the surface interacts with and could interfere with science conducted there. The Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies, a suite of four tiny cameras, will capture imagery showing how the Moon’s surface changes from interactions with the spacecraft’s engine plume during and after descent.

NASA is committed to supporting its U.S. commercial vendors as they navigate the challenges of sending science and technology to the surface of the Moon. Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, expressed his pride in the accomplishment, stating, “In daring to confront one of humanity’s greatest challenges, Intuitive Machines created an entire lunar program that has ventured farther than any American mission to land on the Moon in over 50 years. This humbling moment reminds us that pursuing the extraordinary requires both boldness and resilience.”

The successful landing of Odysseus is a significant step forward in NASA’s Artemis campaign, which aims to send astronauts to the Moon, then onward to Mars. The lunar delivery opens the door for new voyages under Artemis and demonstrates the promise of American leadership in space and the power of commercial partnerships.

For more information about CLPS, visit NASA’s website at https://www.nasa.gov/clps.

Faith McKie and Karen Fox
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov and karen.c.fox@nasa.gov

Nilufar Ramji and Laura Sorto
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov and laura.g.sorto@nasa.gov

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LAST UPDATED
Feb 23, 2024
EDITOR
Jennifer M. Dooren
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Page Last Updated:
Feb 23, 2024

Page Editor:
Jennifer M. Dooren

Responsible NASA Official:
Abigail Bowman