Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: Intuitive Machines

The Intuitive Machines Moon lander carried EagleCam, a camera system from Embry‑Riddle’s Space Technologies Lab, that was to be ejected from the lander on approach to the Moon.

EagleCam was billed and able to capture the first-ever third-person picture of a spacecraft making an extraterrestrial landing.

Artwork of the Intuitive Machines Odysseus Moon lander.. IM-1 mission is targeting Malapert-A crater near the Moon’s south pole.
Image credit: Intuitive Machines

Power down

New information from Troy Henderson, faculty lead of the EagleCam team, points out that due to complications with Odysseus’ internal navigation system, meant to ensure a soft landing, the “decision was made to power down EagleCam during landing and not deploy the device during Odysseus’ final descent.”

However, Henderson added that both the Intuitive Machines and EagleCam teams still plan to deploy EagleCam “and capture images of the lander on the surface as the mission continues.”

That complication with Odysseus’ navigation system specifically involved a software patch to navigation data to include NASA’s NDL (navigation doppler lidar) payload to make sure a soft landing on the Moon occurs.

Embry‑Riddle’s Space Technologies Lab developed EagleCam.
Image credit: Embry‑Riddle/Inside Outer Space screengrab