American Nova-C lunar lander sent the first pictures from space

The American private lunar lander Nova-C, produced by Intuitive Machines and named Odysseus, has sent the first photos taken in space with Earth in the background. This was reported by the Space.com resource.

"The pictures were taken shortly after separating from the second stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket during Intuitive Machines' first flight to the Moon as part of the NASA CLPS initiative," the statement from the University of Houston said.

The CLPS program (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) is part of NASA's Artemis lunar program, including astronaut landings on the Moon and the establishment of a base on its surface.

As part of the current IM-1 mission, Odysseus will conduct six experiments and technology demonstrations for NASA using various instruments, including laser retroreflectors, the demonstration radio navigation beacon LN-1, a Doppler lidar, the SCALPSS stereo camera, a radio frequency fuel tank mass measurement instrument, and the ROLSE low-frequency receiver.

Additionally, Odysseus  carries six commercial payloads, including the detachable Eaglecam for capturing the module's landing process from a height of 30 meters, two ILO-X cameras for the International Lunar Observatory, the Lonestar DRaaS experiment for data transmission from Earth to the Moon and back, a sculptural composition depicting lunar phases, and a thermal shield material from Columbia for cryogenic tanks.

The landing of Nova-C on the lunar surface is scheduled for February 22. If successful, this mission will mark the first American spacecraft landing on the natural satellite of Earth in the last 52 years.