Odysseus probe moonwalking on the edge of battery life after landing on its side
(2024/02/27)
- Reference: 1709056812
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/02/27/odysseus_battery_life/
- Source link:
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lunar lander is facing another countdown. This time the question is how much longer it can continue to operate until it exhausts what remains of the battery life.
On Monday, flight controllers reckoned they had until Tuesday morning before communication with the lander ceased. At the time of writing, controllers [1]hoped there might be as much as 10-20 hours of battery life remaining.
While the landing has been called a success, surviving a few days on the lunar surface is quite some way from the original plan of seven days or more before the lunar night arrived and Odysseus ceased operations.
[2]
The question now is exactly how much work the stricken lander can actually do on the Moon, considering it is on its side – or "on the wonk," as one space agency insider memorably told us – with its battery life fast depleting. According to Intuitive Machines, the lander has "efficiently sent payload science data and imagery in furtherance of the Company's mission objectives."
[3]
[4]
NASA has also published [5]images of the lander taken by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) as it passed approximately 90 km above the landing site.
[6]Japan's SLIM unexpectedly wakes up on Moon after month-long nap
[7]Intuitive Machines' lunar lander tripped and fell
[8]Intuitive Machines' Odysseus prepares for Moon landing
[9]Intuitive Machines IM-1 heading for Moon on SpaceX rocket
Intuitive Machines emphasized the fact that Odysseus had landed intact and is maintaining communication from its southern lunar location ("the furthest south any vehicle has been able to land on the Moon and establish communication with ground controllers," according to the company). It is, however, unclear how much science it will achieve in the time remaining before the battery life is exhausted.
Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) [10]recently "woke up" after spending much of the previous month hibernating. We asked Intuitive Machines if there was a chance that Odysseus might do the same, but the company has yet to respond.
According to NASA's observations, Odysseus came within 1.5 km of its intended Malapert A landing site, using a contingent laser range-finding system patched hours before landing. A [11]post by Mark Robinson, principal investigator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), described the local terrain where Odysseus came to rest as "sloped at a sporty 12°."
[12]
This writer once heard a pilot explaining the reason for a plane circling the runway as being due to "sporty" conditions at an airport. With limited fuel and a recently patched range-finding system, Intuitive Machines did not have quite the same choice. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-1
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zd5pmSsy6rWQvqHIi9rXYAAAAYA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zd5pmSsy6rWQvqHIi9rXYAAAAYA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zd5pmSsy6rWQvqHIi9rXYAAAAYA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.nasa.gov/missions/lro/nasas-lro-images-intuitive-machines-odysseus-lander/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/jaxa_slim_moon_lander_awakens/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/26/intuitive_machines_lunar_lander_sideways/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/intuitive_machines_odysseus_orbit/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/intuitive_machines_im1_moon/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/jaxa_slim_moon_lander_awakens/
[11] https://www.lroc.asu.edu/posts/1360
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zd5pmSsy6rWQvqHIi9rXYAAAAYA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
On Monday, flight controllers reckoned they had until Tuesday morning before communication with the lander ceased. At the time of writing, controllers [1]hoped there might be as much as 10-20 hours of battery life remaining.
While the landing has been called a success, surviving a few days on the lunar surface is quite some way from the original plan of seven days or more before the lunar night arrived and Odysseus ceased operations.
[2]
The question now is exactly how much work the stricken lander can actually do on the Moon, considering it is on its side – or "on the wonk," as one space agency insider memorably told us – with its battery life fast depleting. According to Intuitive Machines, the lander has "efficiently sent payload science data and imagery in furtherance of the Company's mission objectives."
[3]
[4]
NASA has also published [5]images of the lander taken by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) as it passed approximately 90 km above the landing site.
[6]Japan's SLIM unexpectedly wakes up on Moon after month-long nap
[7]Intuitive Machines' lunar lander tripped and fell
[8]Intuitive Machines' Odysseus prepares for Moon landing
[9]Intuitive Machines IM-1 heading for Moon on SpaceX rocket
Intuitive Machines emphasized the fact that Odysseus had landed intact and is maintaining communication from its southern lunar location ("the furthest south any vehicle has been able to land on the Moon and establish communication with ground controllers," according to the company). It is, however, unclear how much science it will achieve in the time remaining before the battery life is exhausted.
Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) [10]recently "woke up" after spending much of the previous month hibernating. We asked Intuitive Machines if there was a chance that Odysseus might do the same, but the company has yet to respond.
According to NASA's observations, Odysseus came within 1.5 km of its intended Malapert A landing site, using a contingent laser range-finding system patched hours before landing. A [11]post by Mark Robinson, principal investigator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), described the local terrain where Odysseus came to rest as "sloped at a sporty 12°."
[12]
This writer once heard a pilot explaining the reason for a plane circling the runway as being due to "sporty" conditions at an airport. With limited fuel and a recently patched range-finding system, Intuitive Machines did not have quite the same choice. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-1
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zd5pmSsy6rWQvqHIi9rXYAAAAYA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zd5pmSsy6rWQvqHIi9rXYAAAAYA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zd5pmSsy6rWQvqHIi9rXYAAAAYA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.nasa.gov/missions/lro/nasas-lro-images-intuitive-machines-odysseus-lander/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/jaxa_slim_moon_lander_awakens/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/26/intuitive_machines_lunar_lander_sideways/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/22/intuitive_machines_odysseus_orbit/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/intuitive_machines_im1_moon/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/jaxa_slim_moon_lander_awakens/
[11] https://www.lroc.asu.edu/posts/1360
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zd5pmSsy6rWQvqHIi9rXYAAAAYA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Failure is an option
Phil O'Sophical
The design should accommodate this.
Moon Weebles?
Re: Failure is an option
Anonymous Coward
"Moon Weebles?"
Easier than that .... external airbags that inflate slowly, at low pressure, to right the lander.
Don't have to be very bulky/heavy and the inflation gas is in a small canister.
Once righted the airbag can be released to no-longer obstruct the instuments etc.
:)
Copyright (c) El Reg Solutions.
beast666
Epic Fail
heyrick
We think fondly of those little Martian gizmos because they have massively surpassed their design goals, but every cute little rover and helicopter gets their glory not just because of the longevity of the mission, but also (and largely) because they succeeded where others left craters and wreckage.
This one made it there intact and is communicating with the mothership while sitting on the lunar surface. However you slice it, that's a win.
If you think you can do better, go ahead, but people far smarter than me have summed it up in three words: Space is hard .
Failure is an option
Given the nature of these missions its got to be assumed that a perfect landing in exactly the right spot is going to be an outlier, something that's worth working towards and trying for but unlikely to happen. The design should accommodate this. It will mean that its going to have redundant payload (Murphy's Law being what it is, once you design the thing on the assumption that it could tip over it will always land upright) but that's the obstreperous nature of machines.