CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Landing on the moon can be tricky. This week, Intuitive Machines faced another setback when their lunar lander ended up sideways after a NASA-supported mission. Unfortunately, its batteries died within a day, ending the mission early.
Last year, Intuitive Machines had a slightly better experience. They successfully marked the U.S.’s return to the moon after a long absence since the Apollo missions. In a more positive turn, Firefly Aerospace recently became the first private company to achieve a successful moon landing.
Both of these Texas-based companies are part of NASA’s effort to enable commercial moon landings, preparing for future astronaut missions planned for this decade.
The moon has seen many failed attempts over the years. Here’s a quick look at the major successes and failures:
The first successful moon landing was by the Soviet Union’s Luna 9 in 1966, followed closely by the U.S. with Surveyor 1. These early missions paved the way for a race to land humans on the moon.
In 1969, NASA won the space race with Apollo 11, where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took historic steps on the lunar surface. Over six missions, twelve astronauts explored the moon until the program ended in 1972. The U.S. aims to send astronauts back to the moon by 2026.
China joined the lunar exploration club in 2013 with the Yutu rover. Since then, they’ve successfully landed on the unexplored far side of the moon with the Yutu-2 rover in 2019. They even returned moon samples in 2020, with plans for another sample return in 2024. China is looking to send its astronauts to the moon by 2030.
Meanwhile, Russia’s recent attempt with Luna 25 ended in failure as the spacecraft crashed on the moon, marking a disappointing return after nearly 50 years.
India made headlines in 2023 when their Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully landed on the moon, making them the fourth country to achieve this feat, just days after Russia’s mishap.
Japan also succeeded in January with a landing, though it was on the wrong side of the moon, affecting its solar power and communication capabilities.
Private companies have also faced challenges in moon landings. Israel’s Beresheet landed unsuccessfully in 2019, and Japan’s ispace faced a similar fate this year. However, Intuitive Machines managed to make a landing, albeit with its craft toppled. Their lander briefly communicated before losing power. In the same year, Astrobotic Technology had to abandon their mission due to a fuel leak.
This year saw a flurry of activity. Firefly Aerospace successfully landed their Blue Ghost lander, providing experiments for NASA. After that, Intuitive Machines attempted another landing, which did not go as planned. Looking ahead, ispace aims to make their landing in June, hoping for better luck.
Check out this related article: Uncovering the Truth: How a Historian Linked ‘Soviet Sasquatch’ Sightings to Living Neanderthals
Source linkSpace exploration, Aerospace technology, Spacecraft, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Aerospace and defense industry, Texas, Buzz Aldrin, Science, Soviet Union, Business, China
