For the first time in over 50 years, a US spacecraft will attempt to land on the moon. The 14-foot-tall lunar lander Odysseus (nicknamed “Odie”) launched with a SpaceX rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on February 15 packed with $118 million of scientific instruments from NASA—and a collection of sculptures from artist Jeff Koons. It separated from the rocket after takeoff and is currently orbiting the moon, preparing to descend at 4:24 PM (EST).
Odie was built by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines, with support from NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative. The program helps NASA save money by working with private corporations on experimental missions.
If today’s landing fails, Odysseus will be the third botched lunar landing in just under a year; Japan’s privately-funded Hakuto-R craft and Russia’s Luna-25 lander both crashed in 2023. If it succeeds, it will become the southernmost landing of a lunar spacecraft to date, at 185 miles from the moon’s shadowy South Pole. India’s historic Chandrayaan-3 mission currently holds the record, after landing about 600 kilometers away from the Pole last August.
You can watch a free NASA+ live-stream starting at 3 PM. Want company? Head to Navy Yard beer garden the Brig (1007 Eighth St., SE) or to Astro Beer Hall in downtown DC and Shirlington (1306 G St NW; 4001 Campbell Ave, Arlington), where the broadcast will stream on their screens.
