Inspirational Queen! Lunar Lander Tips Over but Still Works
In her Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, comedian Ali Wong makes fun of Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In, quipping “I don’t want to lean in, I want to LAY DOWN!” In making this joke, Wong tapped into the universal feeling shared among most women: exhaustion.
Between America’s slow descent into Gilead and the pressure of having/raising children while maintaining a career, being a woman is wiping us out. And on most days, it’s all we can do to remain upright and functional.
Luckily for us, a new role model has dropped: Lunar lander Odysseus touched down on the moon, where it tipped over and landed on its side. Odysseus, which is operated by Intuitive Machines, is believed to have caught its foot on landing in its speedy descent.
CEO Steve Altemus said that the lander is still functioning, noting “So far, we have quite a bit of operational capability even though we’re tipped over. And so that’s really exciting for us, and we are continuing the surface operations mission as a result of it.” Odysseus marks the first moon landing by a U.S. spacecraft since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, and the first for a private company (the lander is still largely funded by NASA).
The lander was designed to scout the south pole of the moon in advance of Project Artemis, which seeks to establish a base on the moon where people can live. Even though the lander is on its side, its solar panels are still able to function and its antennas remain pointed towards Earth. The only cargo item facing down is a piece of art made by Jeff Koons (a bummer for moon-ian modern art enthusiasts).
But while Odysseus currently functions, its lifespan will be rather short. Tim Crain, IM’s CTO and co-founder, said “Once the Sun sets on ‘Oddie’, the batteries will attempt to keep the vehicle warm and alive but eventually it’ll fall into a deep cold and then the electronics that we produce just won’t survive the deep cold of lunar night. And so, best case scenario, we’re looking at another nine to 10 days (of operations).”
Godspeed Odie, the little lander who showed us just how much we can accomplish while lying down. She’s an inspiration to tired girls everywhere.
(featured image: Warner Bros. Pictures)
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