[U: Odysseus Has Landed!] Intuitive Machines To Attempt Soft Robotic Landing -- Near The Moon's South Pole, This Evening...

The last time a US mission touched down safely on the lunar surface -- it was during the Apollo program -- and it was a crewed mission. But this time, it is a stepping stone to crewed missions to Mars, likely not until. . . the mid-2030s.

Still, it is important to show. . . we still have "what it takes" -- given that several other privately-funded missions have recently seen less-than-stellar results, in attempting soft lunar touchdowns, and operations -- without glitches. Here's the latest, for tonight's viewing / streaming along:

. . .As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines is targeting no earlier than 5:30 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 22, to land their Odysseus lunar lander near Malapert A in the South Pole region of the Moon.

Live landing coverage will air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. NASA TV can be streamed on a variety of platforms, including social media. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 4 p.m., as the landing milestones occur. Upon successful landing, Intuitive Machines and NASA will host a news conference to discuss the mission and science opportunities that lie ahead as the company begins lunar surface operations.

In May 2019, the agency awarded a task order for scientific payload delivery to Intuitive Machines. Odysseus launched at 1:05 a.m., Feb. 15, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. . . .

Now you know -- onward, grinning. . . with no news out of the able USDC Judge Ezra's courtroom, in West Texas, yet. Be excellent to one another. Updated: safe at the lunar south pole, tonight!

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