Produced by: Tarun Mishra
The Intuitive Machines spacecraft, part of the IM-1 mission, has achieved a significant milestone by transmitting its initial set of images back to Earth.
The captivating images mark a crucial step in the Nova-C lander's mission, aimed at executing the first US lunar landing in over 50 years.
These striking visuals were captured shortly after the Intuitive Machines spacecraft detached from the second stage of the SpaceX rocket, as detailed by the company.
The Intuitive Machines' moon mission, named Odysseus, took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center atop a Falcon 9 rocket launched by SpaceX in the early hours of February 15.
The Nova-C lander is scheduled to touch down on the lunar surface on February 22, with a mission to deliver experiments for both NASA and commercial entities under a contract valued at $118 million.
The IM-1 flight carries six NASA payloads designed to collect essential data about the lunar environment, supporting NASA's plans for future manned missions to the Moon.
If successful, this mission would mark the first controlled descent to the lunar surface by a US spacecraft since the final Apollo mission in 1972, as well as the first such endeavour by a private company.
Additionally, this achievement signifies a significant milestone in NASA's Artemis program, as the United States endeavours to return astronauts to the Moon ahead of China's planned crewed missions.