Intuitive Machines has experienced a series of setbacks with their lunar landings. The company's CEO Steve Altemus pointed to several technical challenges contributing to their failures, including inaccurate altimeter readings caused by signal distortion and poor lighting conditions creating long shadows. Additionally, the optical navigation system failed to adequately identify craters at low altitude. Despite these setbacks, the second mission did capture detailed imagery of the lunar South Pole, which will be used to enhance future landing attempts. The next mission is scheduled for late 2025, incorporating lessons learned to improve technology.
"Landing on the Moon isn't easy. Intuitive Machines has tried twice and experienced problems on both occasions. Its first mission, using a lander dubbed Odysseus, descended too quickly and broke a leg."
"CEO Steve Altemus blamed 'signal noise and distortion,' which reduced the accuracy of the altimeter during the final phase of descent. He cited 'long shadows and dim lighting conditions' that played havoc with the precision landing."
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