The Odysseus mission is about to run out of power, and Japan's first lunar module suddenly "woke up" after a two-week overnight stay

Last week, the Intuitive Machines Odysseus spacecraft landed on the Moon, although the mission faced difficulties - the team reported problems with a switch that was supposed to activate lasers for a safe landing.

Fortunately, an experimental NASA navigation system was on board the spacecraft, and engineers developed a software patch at the last minute to obtain the necessary altitude and speed data through it and ensure a safe landing of the spacecraft.

Despite all the efforts, Intuitive Machines eventually reported that Odysseus was on its side, and its solar panels were facing the wrong direction - as of Monday evening, the module was still sending data and images, but it is likely that its energy will run out today (as of now, there have been no new reports on the mission's progress).

Flight controllers intend to collect data until the lander's solar panels are no longer exposed to light. Based on Earth and Moon positioning, we believe flight controllers will continue to communicate with Odysseus until Tuesday morning. Image credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State… pic.twitter.com/FFt8CXZPIC

— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 26, 2024

Meanwhile, the Japanese module SLIM, which experienced a similar problem during landing, unexpectedly "woke up" after a long lunar night and sent a signal on Sunday evening.

JAXA called this a "miracle" as the spacecraft was not designed to survive the lunar night (which lasts two Earth weeks, and temperatures in the region can plummet to -170°C, potentially dangerous for SLIM's electronics).

The module's landing on the Moon on January 20th made Japan the 5th country to achieve this. However, SLIM flipped over more than necessary - as a result, its solar panels were facing in the wrong direction. A week later, JAXA reported that they had restored communication with the spacecraft and it had started working before going into "hibernation" for the lunar night.

JAXA says that the signal on Sunday was brief because it was still "lunar noon", and SLIM had a very high temperature, around 100°C. The space agency plans to establish contact again when the spacecraft cools down.