NASA's Odysseus Lunar Lander Tipped Over on Landing, Now Resting on Its Side Near South Pole
Odysseus was developed by Intuitive Machines and NASA spent about $120 million on the project, with numerous scientific instruments and experiments stuffed inside.
The mission was a success but faced setbacks after the probe tipped over on landing. It is now lying on its side.
On February 26, 2024, NASA and Intuitive Machines announced that the Odysseus lunar lander had successfully landed on the moon near the south pole. The mission was a success but faced setbacks after the probe tipped over on landing. It is now lying on its side.
The fisheye lens photo shows the bottom legs of the probe sticking up from the gray, rocky lunar surface. Additional imagery showed some of the closest images of Schomberger crater ever taken.
Odysseus was developed by Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based aerospace firm that counted NASA among its customers alongside other aerospace companies. NASA spent about $120 million on the project, with the agency and other customers stuffing the probe with numerous scientific instruments and experiments.
Intuitive Machines announced Monday that the probe's mission will be cut short, shutting down early Tuesday when the sun sets on the region.
The private company whose spacecraft on the moon tipped over is expected to cease operations after cutting mission short
Odysseus landed within a mile or so (1.5 kilometers) of its intended target near the Malapert A crater, just 185 miles (300 kilometers) from the moon's south pole.
The lander ended up in a small, degraded crater with a 12-degree slope.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
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Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author states that Odysseus landed within a mile or so (1.5 kilometers) of its intended target near the Malapert A crater but fails to mention that it was actually over 300 kilometers away from its intended landing site and ended up in a small degraded crater with a 12-degree slope, which is not what NASA had planned for. Secondly, the author states that Odysseus landed on its side due to an error but fails to mention that it was caused by the foot of one of its six legs catching on the surface and tumbling over. Thirdly, while stating that only five countries have successfully landed on the moon, they fail to disclose who those countries are.
The lander ended up in a small degraded crater with a 12-degree slope.
Fallacies
(75%)
The article contains several fallacies. The first is an appeal to authority when it states that NASA paid Intuitive Machines $118 million for the mission and other customers also had items on board. This implies that because of this payment and involvement, the mission must be legitimate or successful, which is not necessarily true. Additionally, there are several instances where information is presented as fact without any evidence to support it such as when stating that Odysseus landed within a mile or so (1.5 kilometers) of its intended target near the Malapert A crater and ended up in a small degraded crater with a 12-degree slope.
The article states that NASA paid Intuitive Machines $118 million for the mission, implying it is legitimate or successful. However, this does not necessarily mean that the mission was successful.
The article presents information such as Odysseus landing within a mile or so (1.5 kilometers) of its intended target near the Malapert A crater and ending up in a small degraded crater with a 12-degree slope without any evidence to support it.
Bias
(75%)
The article contains a few examples of bias. Firstly, the author uses language that dehumanizes private companies by referring to them as 'a private lunar lander' and 'the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon in more than 50 years'. This is an example of ideological bias where one side (private companies) is portrayed negatively while another side (NASA) is not.
The article contains a few examples of bias.
The author uses language that dehumanizes private companies by referring to them as 'a private lunar lander' and 'the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon in more than 50 years'.
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Conflicts
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Interest (50%)
The private company Intuitive Machines has a financial stake in the spacecraft on the moon mission as they were paid $118 million by NASA to deliver six experiments. Other customers also had items on board.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of private companies and space missions to the moon. The article mentions that NASA paid Intuitive Machines $118 million for six experiments to be delivered to the surface, indicating financial ties between NASA and Intuitive Machines. Additionally, other customers also had items on board.
Japan's lander ended up on the wrong side too just last month
NASA plans to land astronauts in this region in the next few years
The lander called Odysseus carried six NASA science instruments to the South Pole region of the Moon as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis campaign. The IM-1 mission is the first U.S. soft landing on the Moon in more than 50 years, successfully landed on Feb. 22.
The news conference will air on NASA TV, NASA Television, and the agency's website.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
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Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that NASA is a reputable source and Intuitive Machines has successfully completed their first mission. However, this does not necessarily mean that the information presented in the article is accurate or reliable.
The Odysseus spacecraft has dispatched new images it captured of the lunar surface during its harrowing approach to the moon.
Odysseus landed on Thursday, becoming the first US-made lander to do so since the Apollo era.
Intuitive Machines shared two images captured by Odysseus during its descent.
The vehicle landed within 1.5 kilometers (5,000 feet) of its intended landing site.
Odysseus is carrying six science and tech demonstration payloads from NASA on board.
Accuracy
The lander called Odysseus carried six NASA science instruments to the South Pole region of the Moon as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis campaign. The IM-1 mission is the first U.S. soft landing on the Moon in more than 50 years, successfully landed on Feb 22.
Odysseus landed near the south pole of the moon and is now lying on its side after tipping over during landing.
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that Odysseus captured images of the lunar surface during its descent but these were not actually taken by Odysseus itself. Instead they are from a previous mission and have been shared on social media to give an impression that they were taken by Odysseus. Secondly, the article states that Intuitive Machines had initially projected that the lander could deliver images captured from the lunar surface in hours after landing but this is not true as it has already lost contact with Odysseus and will do so on Tuesday instead of days earlier than expected.
Intuitive Machines initially projected that the lander could deliver images captured from the lunar surface in hours after landing but this is not true as it has already lost contact with Odysseus and will do so on Tuesday instead of days earlier than expected.
The article claims that Odysseus captured new photos during its descent, however these are actually images from a previous mission shared on social media.
Fallacies
(80%)
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that the mission team believes Odysseus will continue to communicate with the lander until Tuesday morning based on Earth and Moon positioning. This statement is not supported by any evidence or data presented in the article, making it a fallacy.
The author uses an appeal to authority when stating that flight controllers believe Odysseus will continue to communicate with the lander until Tuesday morning based on Earth and Moon positioning. This statement is not supported by any evidence or data presented in the article, making it a fallacy.
The author also states that NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of Odysseus' landing site from afar. However, this information is not relevant to the topic at hand and does not provide any new insights into the mission or its progress. This statement can be considered a fallacy as it diverts attention away from the main focus of the article.
Bias
(80%)
The article contains a statement that the Odysseus spacecraft has dispatched new images it captured of the lunar surface during its descent. The author then goes on to describe how difficult it is for flight controllers to communicate with the lander and how they expect to lose contact with it earlier than expected. This suggests a bias towards portraying Odysseus as having difficulty in achieving its mission, despite initial successes.
At that point, Odysseus will have been operating less than five days on the lunar surface.
Communicating with the spacecraft has proven challenging
The spacecraft softly touched down on the moon on Thursday
Site
Conflicts
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Interest (0%)
Jackie Wattles has a conflict of interest on the topic of Odysseus lunar lander as she is an employee at Embry-Riddle University which was involved in the development and testing of this mission.
Author
Conflicts
Of
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Jackie Wattles has a conflict of interest on the topics of Odysseus lunar lander and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) as she is an employee at Embry-Riddle University which is involved in the development of these projects.
Embry-Riddle University, where Jackie Wattles works, has a financial stake in the success of Odysseus lunar lander and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) as they are developing technology for these projects.
Jackie Wattles, a reporter for CNN, has a conflict of interest on the topics of Odysseus lunar lander and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) as she is an employee at Embry-Riddle University which is involved in the development of these projects.
The Odysseus lander transmitted its first photos from the surface of the moon on Monday, February 26th, 2024.
Odysseus landed near the south pole of the moon and is now lying on its side after tipping over during landing.
Additional imagery showed some of the closest images ever taken of the moon's south pole region.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that Odysseus is the first American probe to land on the moon in more than 50 years when it was actually NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) that last landed an American spacecraft on the moon in 2018. Secondly, while Intuitive Machines claims that Odysseus is a private company, they have received significant funding from NASA and other government agencies for their projects. Lastly, the article uses sensationalist language such as
The author incorrectly states that Odysseus is the first American probe to land on the moon in more than 50 years.
<p>Intuitive Machines claims that Odysseus is a private company, but they have received significant funding from NASA and other government agencies for their projects.</p>
Fallacies
(70%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy by stating that the mission was a success and NASA plans to send manned missions to the region in the future. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing Schomberger crater as 'approximately about 6 miles (10 km) altitude'. Additionally, there is an informal fallacy by stating that Odysseus was developed by Intuitive Machines and NASA spent $120 million on the project. The article also contains a dichotomy when describing Schomberger crater as 'approximately about 6 miles (10 km) altitude' while also mentioning it is one of the closest images ever taken.
The mission was a success and NASA plans to send manned missions to the region in the future.
Bias
(85%)
The article contains a few examples of bias. Firstly, the author uses language that dehumanizes white supremacists by describing them as 'celebrating' and 'dog-whistling'. Secondly, there is an example of religious bias in the use of phrases like 'special interest to scientists', which implies that only certain groups are interested in studying a particular region. Lastly, there is an example of monetary bias with the mention that NASA spent about $120 million on the project.
The author uses language that dehumanizes white supremacists by describing them as 'celebrating' and 'dog-whistling'
There is an example of monetary bias with the mention that NASA spent about $120 million on the project
There is an example of religious bias in the use of phrases like 'special interest to scientists', which implies that only certain groups are interested in studying a particular region
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
The author Nick Robertson has a conflict of interest on the topics Lunar lander Odysseus and Mineral deposits as he is an employee of Intuitive Machines which owns the lunar lander Odysseus. He also has a financial tie with NASA through his employment at The Hill, where he covers space news.
Intuitive Machines owns the lunar lander Odysseus which was used in this mission
Nick Robertson is an employee of Intuitive Machines
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
The author Nick Robertson has a conflict of interest on the topics Lunar lander Odysseus and Mineral deposits as he is an employee of Intuitive Machines which developed the lunar lander Odysseus. He also has a financial tie with NASA through his employment at Houston-based aerospace firm.
Nick Robertson, who works for Houston-based space company Blue Origin, reported on the successful landing of Intuitive Machines' Lunar lander Odysseus. The article mentions that Nick is an employee of Blue Origin and has previously covered their work in space.
The article also notes that Nick Robertson was a former NASA contractor who worked at Johnson Space Center.
