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The success of Intuitive Machines Inc.’s Odysseus moon lander will have a huge impact on the commercial space economy, according to Chief Executive Steve Altemus.
“We have fundamentally changed the economics of landing on the moon,” he said, during a press conference from NASA’s Johnson Space Center Wednesday. The mission has also “kicked open the door” to a robust and thriving cislunar economy, he added.
Intuitive Machines’
LUNR,
Odysseus made history last week when it became the first commercial lander to successfully reach the lunar surface.
Related: With clock ticking for Odysseus moon lander, Intuitive Machines’ stock rallies
However, the lander tipped over during its landing near the moon’s south pole and earlier this week the company said that the mission would be cut short.
But on Wednesday Altemus said that Odysseus is continuing to generate solar polar and will operate on the lunar surface for 144 hours after landing.
“We have conducted a very successful mission to this point,” said Altemus. “We intend to proceed as planned.”
Related: As U.S. commercial lander heads to lunar surface, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt says moon is important for ‘vast energy and materials’
After 144 hours, the lander will be “put to sleep” before being powered up again in a few weeks, according to the CEO. “We will put ‘Odie’ to sleep and expect to wake him up in the next two to three weeks,” he said.
Intuitive Machines has also received data from all of Odysseus’ 12 payloads, both NASA and commercial, according to the CEO.
The IM-1 mission is carrying NASA instruments focusing on plume-surface interactions, space-weather and lunar-surface interactions, radio astronomy and precision-landing technologies, along with a communication and navigation node for future autonomous-navigation technologies, according to the space agency.
Related: These are the space stocks to keep an eye on in 2024
Shares of Intuitive Machines fell 4.1% Wednesday. The stock is up 124% in the last three months, outpacing the S&P 500 index’s
SPX
gain of 11.3%.
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