How Nasa tech saved Odysseus Moon landing from last-gasp failure

The historic US Moon landing on Friday morning brought scenes similar to a Hollywood thriller, when the Odysseus spacecraft's navigation systems stopped working about two hours before the expected touchdown.

The unmanned robotic lander's rangefinders, the navigation lasers and camera, are crucial in the landing process because they allow it to detect exactly where it is by taking images of the lunar surface and avoiding hazards such as boulders.

But after they failed, Intuitive Machines, the team that built the lander, decided to switch to Nasa technology to save the mission.

“Today, flight controllers chose to exercise an additional orbit, before starting the IM-1 mission landing sequence,” an announcer said in a live-stream.

“This decision brought us to now, projecting a landing time of 17.24 CT [3.24am UAE time]. Intuitive Machines made the decision to reassign the primary navigation sensors from Odysseus's laser range finding system to use the sensors on Nasa's Navigation Doppler LIDAR.”

Nasa paid about $118 million to Houston-based company Intuitive Machines to carry six of its payloads to the lunar surface.

Although the US space agency's navigation system was on board, it was not intended for use on the privately owned spacecraft.

Nasa's engineers were only supposed to use the LIDAR system as an experimental technology for future Moon missions – but it ended up playing a crucial role in saving Friday's entire mission.

But the IM-1 mission's flight controllers used two lasers from Nasa's LIDAR payload as an alternative means to navigate during the 11-minute powered descent to the lunar surface.

More drama unfolded after the landing, when mission control was only able to secure a weak signal from the vehicle, making it unclear what condition Odysseus was in.

“We're not dead yet,” mission director Tim Crain said, about 12 minutes after touchdown.

It was not until three hours after the landing that Intuitive Machines confirmed Odysseus was sending data.

“After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data,” the company said.

“Right now, we are working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface.”

The US space agency contracted the company to deliver its cargo to the Moon as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services programme.

The project is meant to support lunar operating companies by creating easier access to the Moon.

Nasa also sent its payloads on Astrobotic's failed Peregrine vehicle lunar mission earlier this year.

The craft experienced a propulsion anomaly shortly after separating from the rocket, causing a fuel leak that made a lunar landing impossible.

Intuitive Machines became the first company to land a private mission on the lunar surface.

It was also the first American vehicle to land on the Moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972.

Nasa administrator Bill Nelson congratulated the company on the milestone feat.

“Today for the first time in more than a half century, the US has returned to the Moon,” he said.

“Today for the first time in the history of humanity, a commercial company and American company launched and led the voyage up there.

“Congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring quest at Intuitive Machines, SpaceX and right here at Nasa. What a triumph. Odysseus has taken the Moon.”

Intuitive Machines joins an exclusive club of organisations that have landed on the Moon, including space agencies from the US, former Soviet Union, China, India and Japan.

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Which honey takes your fancy?

Al Ghaf Honey

The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year

Sidr Honey

The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest

Samar Honey

The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Results

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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE

Join parent networks
Look beyond school fees
Keep an open mind

The biog

Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha

Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Holiday destination: Sri Lanka

First car: VW Golf

Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters

Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail