An American spacecraft, the Nova-C lander named “Odysseus,” is set to launch early Thursday, aiming to achieve the first private-led lunar landing after the first attempt this year ended in failure.
The mission, led by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, seeks to become the first non-government entity to achieve a soft touchdown on the Moon and land the first US robot on the surface since the Apollo missions.
The launch, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed due to abnormal temperatures during fueling. The lander, equipped with a new supercooled liquid methane and oxygen engine, is designed to quickly reach its destination, Malapert A, an impact crater 300 kilometers from the Moon’s south pole.
NASA hopes to leverage such missions to establish a long-term presence on the Moon, with plans to harvest ice for drinking water and rocket fuel under its Artemis program. The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, aimed at stimulating a wider lunar economy through private sector participation.
