If all go well , Intuitive Machines might be making history tomorrow , becoming the first private companionship to soft - land on the Moon – one of themany attemptsto get to the Moon this year . Theirs will be the closest lander to the Moon ’s South Pole , an area of utmost sake for future human liquidation of our born satellite .
Their lander Odysseus ( also make love as IM-1 ) establish last week , and it is schedule to set ashore on February 22 at 17:49 Eastern Time ( 22:49 UTC ) inside Malapert A volcanic crater . The volcanic crater is 69 kilometers ( 43 miles ) across and is 300 kilometers ( 186 miles ) from the South Pole . The previous record - holder for the southernmost landing wasChandrayaan-3which last September get around 600 kilometers ( 372.8 land mile ) from the South Pole .
The region point is near Malapert Massif , one of the potential targets for the next Moon landing . That is expected to hap withArtemis IIIin September 2026 . The lander carries several NASA payloads , as well as others from private companies and inquiry institutions . It is expected to execute several important probe that might tempt the future of human exploration of the Moon .
“ IM-1 is a trailblazing mission aimed at make a commercial lunar economy , delivering commercial payloads and NASA science and engineering payloads that will pave the way for a sustainable human presence on and around the Moon , ” Intuitive Machines say about Odysseus in amission statement .
If the charge is successful it will be the first U.S. vehicle to land on the Moon since 1972 , when Apollo 17 got there carrying Gene Cernan andHarrison Schmitt . But success is always uncertain when it comes to Moon landing .
Just last calendar month , another commercial delegacy from the US failed before even attempting to set down . Astrobotic ’s Peregrine one had a propellant leak that caused get onto , leaving it ineffectual to point its solar panels properly . Not having enough juice to depart its orbit around the solid ground , it was eventually bestow back down to Earth , burning in the atmosphere .
But even aim near the Moon is no warrant of a safe landing place . Russia ’s Luna 25crash - bring down last summer after many years of ontogenesis . On the private company ' side , there were two previous attempts and two crash - landing : one fromIsraeland one from aUnited Arab Emirates - Japan partnership .
The whole landing endeavour can be watched on NASA+ .
