A Spacecraft Named Odysseus Will Launch to the Moon: How to Watch

Another month, another try at the moon.

A robotic lunar lander is scheduled to launch in the early morning hours of Wednesday. If all goes well, it will become the first American spacecraft to set down softly on the moon’s surface since the Apollo 17 moon landing in 1972.

It is also the latest private effort to send spacecraft to the moon. Earlier attempts have all ended in failure. But the company in charge of the latest effort, Intuitive Machines of Houston, is optimistic.

“I feel fairly confident that we’re going to be successful softly touching down on the moon,” said Stephen Altemus, the president and chief executive of Intuitive Machines. “We’ve done the testing. We’ve tested and tested and tested. As much testing as we could do.”

The Nova-C moon lander is about the size of a British phone booth according to Intuitive Machines. This particular lander is named Odysseus.Credit…Brandon Thibodeaux for The New York Times

Executives at Intuitive Machines said they have tested their spacecraft extensively, but all other private lunar landers so far have failed to make the journey successfully.Credit…Intuitive Machines

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