A lunar lander built by Intuitive Machines survived a nearly disastrous moon landing last week thanks to some quick thinking by engineers and a bit of good fortune.
The lander was supposed to use laser sensors to guide itself to a safe landing spot. But just hours before touchdown, controllers discovered a safety switch had accidentally been left on, rendering the lasers useless.
“That was an oversight on our part,” admitted Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus during a news conference.
With no time to fix the issue, the team improvised a solution. One of the NASA experiments onboard included a backup navigation system with cameras and lasers. Engineers hurriedly reprogrammed the lander to use this instead.
The new code was uploaded just 45 minutes before the scheduled landing. “It was risky, but better than nothing,” Altemus said.
Miraculously, the lander touched down safely, though it clipped a rock and tipped onto its side. The team of “space cowboys,” as Altemus called them, pulled off an ingenious rescue that likely saved the mission.
Their stroke of genius – repurposing the NASA tech to guide the lander – impressed space experts. The improved navigation experiment, it turned out, became key to overcoming their own blunder with the main lasers.
“It was one of the most remarkable feats of engineering I’ve seen,” said Intuitive’s CTO. Thanks to their quick fix, the lander survived to achieve first-ever commercial moon landing.
