Another Private US Company Aims for the Moon
2024-02-16
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1The U.S. space agency NASA has launched a moon lander built by a private U.S. company aiming to reach the moon next week.
2Thursday's launch came after a failed attempt from another private American company last month.
3SpaceX's Falcon rocket launched Intuitive Machines' lunar lander to the moon, 370,000 kilometers away, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
4The American space agency is the main sponsor for the private mission with six navigation and other technology experiments on the lander.
5If all goes well, the lunar spacecraft will try to land on February 22, after one day in lunar orbit.
6Five countries - the U.S., Russia, China, India and Japan - have landed a spacecraft on the moon.
7No private company has yet to succeed in doing so.
8Only the U.S. has sent astronauts to the moon.
9Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt were the last of the Apollo program's astronauts to reach the moon in December 1972.
10"There have been a lot of sleepless nights getting ready for this," Intuitive Machines' co-founder and chief executive Steve Altemus said before the flight.
11The Houston-based company aims to land its 4.3-meter tall, six-legged spacecraft near the moon's south pole.
12The area is full of dangerous craters and cliffs but it is possibly rich in frozen water.
13It is also the place where NASA plans to land astronauts in a few years.
14Last month, Peregrine, a lunar lander from privately-owned Astrobotic Technology, failed shortly after liftoff.
15The spacecraft, which carried some NASA experiments, broke apart and burned up 10 days after launch partly because of a fuel leak.
16Other attempts made it to the moon before wrecking.
17An Israeli nonprofit group's lander crashed in 2019.
18Last year, a Japanese company saw its lander crash into the moon followed by Russia's crash landing.
19Intuitive Machines named its lander after Homer's hero in The Odyssey.
20"Godspeed, Odysseus. Now let's go make history," said Trent Martin of Intuitive Machines.
21NASA is paying Intuitive Machines $118 million to get its latest set of experiments to the moon.
22The company also gets payment from businesses.
23They include Columbia Sportswear, which is testing material as a thermal insulator on the lander, and artist Jeff Koons, who is sending his small moon figurines to Earth's natural satellite.
24The lander is also carrying Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Eaglecam.
25The camera is designed to take pictures of the lander as it lands.
26The spacecraft will cease operations after a week on the moon's surface.
27I'm Dan Friedell.
1The U.S. space agency NASA has launched a moon lander built by a private U.S. company aiming to reach the moon next week. Thursday's launch came after a failed attempt from another private American company last month. 2SpaceX's Falcon rocket launched Intuitive Machines' lunar lander to the moon, 370,000 kilometers away, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 3The American space agency is the main sponsor for the private mission with six navigation and other technology experiments on the lander. If all goes well, the lunar spacecraft will try to land on February 22, after one day in lunar orbit. 4Five countries - the U.S., Russia, China, India and Japan - have landed a spacecraft on the moon. No private company has yet to succeed in doing so. Only the U.S. has sent astronauts to the moon. Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt were the last of the Apollo program's astronauts to reach the moon in December 1972. 5"There have been a lot of sleepless nights getting ready for this," Intuitive Machines' co-founder and chief executive Steve Altemus said before the flight. 6The Houston-based company aims to land its 4.3-meter tall, six-legged spacecraft near the moon's south pole. The area is full of dangerous craters and cliffs but it is possibly rich in frozen water. It is also the place where NASA plans to land astronauts in a few years. 7Last month, Peregrine, a lunar lander from privately-owned Astrobotic Technology, failed shortly after liftoff. The spacecraft, which carried some NASA experiments, broke apart and burned up 10 days after launch partly because of a fuel leak. 8Other attempts made it to the moon before wrecking. 9An Israeli nonprofit group's lander crashed in 2019. Last year, a Japanese company saw its lander crash into the moon followed by Russia's crash landing. 10Intuitive Machines named its lander after Homer's hero in The Odyssey. 11"Godspeed, Odysseus. Now let's go make history," said Trent Martin of Intuitive Machines. 12NASA is paying Intuitive Machines $118 million to get its latest set of experiments to the moon. The company also gets payment from businesses. They include Columbia Sportswear, which is testing material as a thermal insulator on the lander, and artist Jeff Koons, who is sending his small moon figurines to Earth's natural satellite. 13The lander is also carrying Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Eaglecam. The camera is designed to take pictures of the lander as it lands. 14The spacecraft will cease operations after a week on the moon's surface. 15I'm Dan Friedell. 16Marcia Dunn reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17_________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19sponsor -n. a person or group that supports either a person or activity with money and effort 20navigation -n. related to the science of getting vehicles from one place to another 21crater -n. the mark left on the surface of a planet, moon or asteroid after it is hit by a space object 22cliff -n. a surface that is very steep dropping from a high to a lower place 23thermal insulator -n. a material that protects equipment from heat 24figurine -n. a little statue 25We want to hear from you. 26Our comment policy is here.