BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — It has only been a few days since a U.S. company sent a spacecraft to the surface of the moon.
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However, time is already running out for the “Odysseus” moon lander.
Officials said the spacecraft ended up sideways on the moon’s surface after making contact.
Read: Odysseus moon lander appears to have tipped over, NASA partner says
Intuitive Machines said it intended to collect data until the lander’s solar panels were no longer exposed to light.
And that will likely happen Tuesday, which is much earlier than expected.
The images included here are the closest observations of any spaceflight mission to the south pole region of the Moon. Odysseus is quite the photographer, capturing this image approximately 30 meters above the lunar surface while his main engine throttled down more than 24,000… pic.twitter.com/O6E7w3Y2Hi
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 27, 2024
Intuitive Machines said flight controllers continue to communicate with Odysseus.
It released several images Tuesday, which are the “closest observations of any spaceflight mission” to the moon’s south pole region.
Watch: NASA, SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center
It’s not clear how the sideways landing will affect the number of images and information Odysseus will send to Earth.
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