Intuitive Machines announced that the descending lunar module Nova-C, nicknamed “Odyssey”, will complete its mission on the morning of February 27. The sun will stop illuminating the solar cell of the device and its energy will be cut off. Under other conditions, the module could have operated for another week, but the moon landing resulted in a rollover, which disrupted the orientation of the solar panels.

As you may remember, the Nova-C lunar module of Intuitive Machines was launched into space on February 15. A week later, it reached the Moon and entered a circular orbit at an altitude of 92 km. The next day, the module attempted to land on the satellite’s surface. Communication with him was lost a few minutes before the estimated landing time and was only re-established 15 minutes later. About a day later, the operator announced that the module was slowly descending on the Moon; it was alive and well, but turned on its side, preventing both communication and the batteries from being fully charged.

The mission team attempted to rotate the solar cell behind the sun. Despite everything, the operation was not successful. A few hours ago, it was announced that the solar panel illumination of the overturned module would stop completely and the on-board equipment would cease to function. About a week later, a night will begin on the moon that will last approximately 14 Earth days. The descent module will not be able to withstand it, since heating is not provided.