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Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/02/it-turns-out-that-odysseus-landed-on-the-moon-without-any-altimetry-data/ [arstechnica.com]

HOUSTON—Steve Altemus beamed with pride on Tuesday morning as he led me into Mission Control for the Odysseus lander, which is currently operating on the Moon and returning valuable scientific data to Earth. A team of about a dozen operators sat behind consoles, attempting to reset a visual processing unit onboard the lunar lander, one of their last, best chances to deploy a small camera that would snap a photo of Odysseus in action.

"I just wanted you to see the team," he said.
[...]
"You can say whatever you want to say," Altemus said. "But from my perspective, this is an absolute success of a mission. Holy crap. The things that you go through to fly to the Moon. The learning, just every step of the way, is tremendous."
[...]
As has been previously reported [arstechnica.com], Intuitive Machines discovered that the range finders on Odysseus were inoperable a couple of hours before it was due to attempt to land on the Moon last Thursday. This was later revealed to be due to the failure to install a pencil-sized pin and a wire harness that enabled the laser to be turned on and off.
[...]
the last accurate altitude reading the lander received came when it was 15 kilometers above the lunar surface—and still more than 12 minutes from touchdown.
[...]
By comparing imagery data frame by frame, the flight computer could determine how fast it was moving relative to the lunar surface. Knowing its initial velocity and altitude prior to initiating powered descent and using data from the inertial measurement unit (IMU) on board Odysseus, it could get a rough idea of altitude.
[...]
Unfortunately, as it neared the lunar surface, the lander believed it was about 100 meters higher relative to the Moon than it actually was.
[...]
imagery from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which flew over the landing site, Intuitive Machines has determined that the lander came down to the surface and likely skidded. This force caused one of its six landing legs to snap. Then, for a couple of seconds, the lander stood upright before toppling over due to the failed leg.
[...]
"The question is, do you want to limp along and stay alive with everything shut off?" Altemus said. "Or do you want to go on the Quasonix, when you have the big ear listening, and get all the data you can? And that's the decision we made, to go get all the data. It's not how long you stay alive. It's how much information you glean from this mission."
[...]
In thinking back over the 12 days since the Intuitive Machines lander launched on a Falcon 9 rocket, Altemus said the mission experienced 11 crises. The first of these happened shortly after the Falcon 9 rocket's upper stage released the spacecraft into a translunar injection. The star trackers on board the spacecraft failed.
[...]
If one assumes there is a 70 percent chance of recovering from any one of these crises but you have to address 11 different crises on the way to the Moon, the probability of mission success is less than 2 percent.

"The reason we made it is right here, our people," he said. "The team we had, what they did, oh my God. They never quit. The perseverance, the resilience, just the power of the people we have in this team. That's why we're on the Moon."

Previously on SoylentNews:
UPDATE: The Odysseus has landed! [soylentnews.org] - 20240223
Private US Moon Lander Successfully Launches 24 Hours After Flight Was Delayed [soylentnews.org] - 20240216

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