- Crunch time looms for BHP's bid buy Anglo American
- Kane to face old club Spurs for first time in Seoul
- Markets rise as traders cheered by China property plan
- Black farmers in Brazil changing views on coffee production
- Iran's President Raisi declared dead in helicopter crash
- Australia police arrest 554 in domestic violence crackdown
- South Korea, Britain host AI summit with safety top of agenda
- New president Lai vows to defend Taiwan's democracy
- Forever fad: Rubik says his cube 'reminds us why we have hands'
- Trump eyes witness stand as trial draws to a close
- Ryanair annual profit jumps on higher demand, fares
- High-priced Cummins, Starc face off as IPL enters playoffs
- Iran media says President Raisi died in helicopter crash
- Dominican Republic President Abinader re-elected to 2nd term
- New Taiwan president Lai hails 'glorious' democracy
- New Caledonia separatists defy French efforts to unblock roads
- Timberwolves knock out defending champion Nuggets, Pacers oust Knicks
- Trump biopic hits Cannes Film Festival
- Iran President Raisi's helicopter found, 'no sign of life'
- Three talking points ahead of 2024 French Open
- 'Haikyu!!': Comic heroes fuel Japan Olympic volleyball manga mania
- Timberwolves rally to knock defending champion Nuggets out of NBA playoffs
- London court set to rule on Julian Assange extradition
- Business and Bollywood votes in India election
- Pope calls anti-migrant attitudes at US border 'madness'
- Mexico aims to be big economic winner from US-China tensions
- Uncertain future for thousands after deadly Brazil floods
- Schauffele makes the putt of his life for first major win
- Wirtz returns to help unbeaten Leverkusen chase history
- Search for Iran's President Raisi after helicopter goes missing
- DeChambeau's powerful putting has him excited for US Open
- Taiwan to swear in new president as China pressure grows
- Atalanta can end 61-year wait for trophy in Europa League final
- Schauffele birdies final hole to capture PGA for first major win
- Guardiola casts doubt over long-term Man City future
- Hollywood icons Costner and Demi Moore make Cannes comeback
- Pacers shoot down Knicks to reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
- Schauffele birdies final hole, captures first major at PGA Championship
- McLaughlin powers to Indy 500 pole in all-Penske front row
- Monaco footballer tapes over LGBTQ badge
- Korda wins sixth LPGA title of year with win at Liberty National
- Pacers put on shooting show to down Knicks, reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
- US envoy touts 'potential' of Israel-Saudi deal in Netanyahu talks
- Dominicans vote for president in poll overshadowed by Haiti crisis
- Brest secure Champions League qualification, PSG win without Mbappe
- Mbappe absent as PSG win final Ligue 1 game
- Still exhausted after arrest, Scheffler closes with 64 at PGA
- Brest secure historic Champions League qualification
- France's Macron calls fresh emergency on New Caledonia unrest
- Taiwan swears in new president as China pressure grows
Lights out for wonky US lunar lander, for now
An uncrewed American lander that became the first private spaceship on the Moon sent its final image Thursday before its power banks depleted, the company that built it said.
Houston-based Intuitive Machines posted a picture that was captured by Odysseus on February 22, the day it touched down near the south pole.
But the image was only received Thursday. The company shared earlier that a wonky landing had left the vessel's antennas misaligned and unable to transmit at an optimal rate.
The photograph "showcases the crescent Earth in the backdrop, a subtle reminder of humanity's presence in the universe," said Intuitive Machines, which also achieved the first lunar touchdown by an American spaceship since the manned Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
"Goodnight, Odie. We hope to hear from you again," the company added, using a nickname for the spaceship that refers to the canine sidekick from the Garfield comic series.
The onset of the long lunar night means it will be another two or three weeks before flight controllers can attempt to awaken the vessel -- just as Japan's SLIM spaceship that landed upside down in January was resurrected this week -- but nothing is certain.
Odysseus' historic mission was hailed as a success by both the company and NASA, even as it ran into multiple problems along the way.
A failure in the lander's navigation system -- the result of a human error in omitting to toggle a laser safety switch before lift-off -- meant engineers had to improvise a fix, switching to an experimental NASA system intended only as a technology demonstration.
It came skidding down in its final seconds with too much horizontal velocity, resulting in one or two landing gear breaking and the vehicle coming to rest at an angle. In its latest update, Intuitive Machines said the tilt was about 30 degrees.
NASA is planning to return astronauts to the Moon later this decade, and paid Intuitive Machines around $120 million for the mission, as part of an initiative to delegate cargo missions to the private sector and stimulate a lunar economy.
Odysseus carries a suite of NASA instruments designed to improve scientific understanding of the lunar south pole, where the space agency plans to send astronauts under its Artemis program later this decade.
The United States, along with international partners, wants to eventually develop long-term habitats in the region, harvesting polar ice for drinking water -- and for rocket fuel for eventual onward voyages to Mars.
L.Dubois--BTB