US private spacecraft enters orbit around moon ahead of landing attempt | Top Vip News

A private American lunar lander reached the Moon and entered low orbit on Wednesday, a day before it attempts an even greater feat: landing on the gray, dusty surface.

A safe landing would return the United States to the Moon for the first time since NASA astronauts closed the Apollo program in 1972. The company, if successful, would also become the first private company to achieve a lunar landing.

Launched last week, the Intuitive Machines lander fired its engine on the back of the moon while out of contact with Earth. Flight controllers at the company’s headquarters in Houston had to wait until the spacecraft emerged to find out whether the lander was in orbit or speeding aimlessly away.

Intuitive Machines confirmed that its lander, nicknamed Odysseus, was circling the moon with experiments from NASA and other customers. The lander is part of a NASA program to boost the lunar economy; The space agency is paying $118 million to carry out its experiments on the Moon on this mission.

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On Thursday, controllers will lower the orbit from just under 92 kilometers (60 miles) to 10 kilometers (6 miles), a crucial maneuver repeated on the far side of the Moon, before aiming for a landing near the South Pole. of the moon. It is a dangerous place to land with all the craters and cliffs, but it is considered a prime location for astronauts as the permanently shadowed craters are believed to contain frozen water.

The moon is full of debris from failed moon landings. Some missions didn’t even get that far. Another American company, Astrobotic Technology, attempted to send a lander to the moon last month, but it failed to arrive due to a fuel leak. The damaged lander crashed into the atmosphere and burned up over the Pacific.

A summary of the moon winners and losers:

First victories

The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 successfully landed on the Moon in 1966, after its predecessors crashed or missed the Moon entirely. The United States follows four months later with Surveyor 1. Both countries achieve more robotic landings, as the race to land men intensifies.

Apollo rules

NASA closes the space race with the Soviets in 1969 with the landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11. Twelve astronauts explore the surface in six missions, before the program ends with Apollo 17 in 1972. The United States, which remains the only country to send humans to the Moon, it hopes to return crews to the surface in late 2026, approximately a year later. a lunar flight carried out by astronauts.

China emerges

China, in 2013, becomes the third country to successfully land on the Moon, delivering a rover called Yutu, which in Chinese means jade rabbit. China follows with the Yutu-2 rover in 2019, this time landing on the unexplored far side of the moon, an impressive first. A sample return mission to the near side of the Moon in 2020 will return nearly 1.7 kilograms (4 pounds) of lunar rocks and soil. Another sample return mission should be launched soon, but this time to the other side. China, considered NASA’s biggest lunar rival, aims to take its astronauts to the Moon by 2030.

Russia stumbles

In 2023, Russia attempts its first moon landing in almost half a century, but the Luna 25 spacecraft crashes into the moon. The country’s previous lander, 1976’s Luna 24, not only landed but returned lunar rocks to Earth.

India triumphs in take 2

After its first lander crashed into the moon in 2019, India regroups and launches Chandrayaan-3 (Hindi for lunar craft) in 2023. The craft lands successfully, making India the fourth country in achieving a moon landing. The victory comes just four days after Russia’s crash landing.

Japan lands on its side

Japan becomes the fifth country to successfully land on the Moon, with its spacecraft set to land in January. The ship lands on the wrong side, compromising its ability to generate solar power, but manages to produce images and science before falling silent as the long lunar night arrives.

private attempts

A privately funded Israeli lander, called Beresheet, which is Hebrew for “in the beginning,” crashes into the moon in 2019. A Japanese entrepreneur’s company, ispace, launches a lunar lander in 2023, but It also crashes. Astrobotic Technology, a Pittsburgh company, launches its lander in January, but a fuel leak prevents landing and dooms the ship. Astrobotic and intuitive machines plan more deliveries to the moon.