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Lunar lander Odysseus, still generating power on the moon, will be put to sleep soon
Odysseus, which touched down on the moon last week, has about three hours left before Intuitive Machines puts it “to sleep” in hopes that the lunar lander can be woken back up in a few weeks, company officials said Wednesday.
On Tuesday morning, the company said Odysseus – nicknamed Odie — had about 10-20 hours left, but the lunar lander continued to generate solar power on the moon on Wednesday. In several weeks, the sun will illuminate Odysseus’ solar panel again, Intuitive Machines CEO and co-founder Steve Altemus said.
“I think what we’re going to do is kind of tuck Odie in for the cold night of the moon and see if we can’t wake him up here when we get the solar noon here in about three weeks,” once the lunar night ends, Altemus said during a press conference.
Hopes for waking Odysseus back up
Without illumination on Odysseus’ solar panel, the lander will lose energy. It’s already degrading in power, Altemus said Wednesday. The plan is to try and ping Odysseus with an antenna and wake it back up in a few weeks.
“This mission was intended as a scout and a pilot mission to go land on the surface, collect the data and then the cold of night was going to take the lander, where it was going to sit there quietly for the rest of time,” Altemus said.
Intuitive Machines
There may be another opportunity in a few weeks to get additional data, Altemus said, adding, “So, no eulogies planned yet.”
However, there’s a chance the team may not be able to wake Odysseus back up, Tim Crain, Intuitive’s chief technology officer, said. The batteries are the main limiter, because they don’t respond well to cold. The company may not be able to receive power from the solar panel in a few weeks. It’s also unclear how the flight computer and radio will manage in the cold.
“We’re in a position where, why not try? With no odds on it, let’s see what happens,” Altemus said.
NASA’s Sue Lederer said she has faith in Odysseus. “He’s a scrappy little dude, so I have confidence in Odie at this point,” she said.
Odysseus survives, sends back data even after tipping over
The lunar lander had a challenging landing on the moon. Odysseus came down faster than expected and tipped over onto its side as it landed.
It skidded and part of the landing gear broke off, Altemus said. Despite the difficult landing, Odysseus has been able to send back pictures and data. Data has come in from all of the payloads on Odysseus — it was equipped with six NASA instruments and another six commercial payloads.
Intuitive Machines via AP
Odysseus has sent back more than 15 megabytes of information, which is more than was expected, Lederer said.
“We went from basically a cocktail straw of data coming back to a boba tea size straw of data coming back,” Lederer said.
Altemus said he views it as a successful mission
“What we’ve done in the process of this mission is we’ve fundamentally changed the economics of landing on the moon,” Altemus said. “We’ve kicked open the door for a robust thriving cislunar economy in the future.”
NEW YORK — Timothée Chalamet made a surprise appearance Sunday at his own look-alike contest in Manhattan.
At least one person was arrested after a large crowd formed and police broke up the event in Washington Square Park.
Chalamet posed for photos with his doppelgängers, some of whom came dressed as his characters from the movies “Wonka” and “Dune.”
The look-alike contest was one of several such competitions hosted by the YouTube personality Anthony Po, and it promised $50 for the winner. As word spread on social media, thousands of people RSVP’d.
From “a silly joke” to “pandemonium”
Stefan Jeremiah / AP
Minutes after the competition started — and before Chalamet arrived — police ordered the group to disperse from the park. Organizers were hit with a $500 fine for an “unpermitted costume contest,” and police said one person was issued a summons for disorderly conduct.
“It started off as a silly joke and now it’s turned pandemonium,” Paige Nguyen, a producer for the YouTube creator, told The Associated Press.
The group relocated to another park, and the audience eventually crowned Miles Mitchell, a Staten Island college senior, as the winner.
“I’m excited and I’m also overwhelmed,” Mitchell said. “There were so many good look-alikes. It was really a toss-up.”
The contestants were asked to demonstrate their French skills, about their romantic plans with Kylie Jenner, and what they would do to make the world a better place.
WESTON – A small group of loyal customers gathered in Weston Saturday morning to thank a pharmacist who is relocating as Walgreens closes the location where he served the community for almost three decades.
The celebration was led by an 11-year-old boy who shocked the pharmacist by presenting him with thousands of dollars that he raised as a thank you gift.
Weston Walgreens closing
In the midst of corporate cutbacks at Walgreens, the location on Boston Post Road is closing permanently. So a small group came out to thank the pharmacist at the store.
“It’s humbling. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing,” said veteran pharmacist Bob Hesselberg, who has worked at the store for nearly 30 years. “I don’t want to retire, even though I am 75. I don’t want to retire. I’m not ready for it.”
Hesselberg is moving on to a store in Waltham. The sendoff was led by 11-year-old Aarav Khanna, whose school bus routinely drops him off right across from the Walgreens location.
“I’ve seen the amount of kindness and hard work he puts into his job,” Khanna said.
CBS Boston
Money raised for pharmacist
Khanna got the idea to raise money for Hesselberg as a going away present. And the total grew quickly. Thanks to the community, Kanna was able to present Hesselberg with a check for $6,000 on Saturday, leaving the pharmacist in shock.
During the Saturday celebration, a young girl gave a handmade card to Hesselberg, who people in the community call “Pharmacist Bob.”
“You walk in, he not only greets you by name, but he wants to know how your family is, and how is that medication you had last time, and how are you doing? And he means it,” customer Carol Ott said.
The Weston Walgreens closes in the middle of November. Hesselberg hopes some customers will follow him to Waltham, but he worries about some of the older residents driving that distance, especially since the chain won’t be doing home delivery anymore.
“I’m gonna miss everybody. And I’m very grateful for all of this. And thank you so much,” Hesselberg told the crowd.
CBS News
Harris tells Philadelphia church election will “decide the fate of our nation for generations to come”
Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Philadelphia Sunday as the countdown to election day nears one week.
Harris, who spent several days in the Delaware Valley over the past week, spoke at the Church of Christian Compassion in Philadelphia on Sunday morning and will hold a campaign rally in the city later in the night.
“In just nine days we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come,” she told the congregation.
Several minutes into her speech, some shouting broke out in the crowd. Harris paused during the disruption. “That’s why we fight for our democracy. Every voice is important,” she said while the outburst was quieted.
Harris went on to encourage the Philadelphia church to lean on faith in the days leading up to the election, and urged worshippers to use their feet to get to the polls.
“Here in Pennsylvania, right now each of us has an opportunity to make a difference. Because in this moment we do face a real question. What kind of country to we we want to live in,” she said. “The great thing about living in a democracy is we the people have the choice to answer that question. So let us answer not just with our words, but with our works.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Harris visited the Famous 4th Street Deli in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood before attending a town hall in Delaware County. Earlier in the week, the vice president sat down with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney in Chester County in the first of three moderated conversations in battleground states.
During that conversation, Harris appealed to Republican voters who are on the fence about voting for former President Donald Trump, and claimed he used the presidency as a way to “demean and to divide” Americans.
“I think people are exhausted with that, rightly,” Harris said. “And it does not lead to the strength of our nation to tell American people that we must be suspicious of one another, distrust one another.”
On Monday, Harris will harness the star power of some of her biggest supporters during a benefit concert at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, according to multiple sources.
Twenty-time Grammy winner Bruce Springsteen will headline a concert and a rally with former President Barack Obama as part of the Harris campaign’s effort to mobilize voters in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election.
Speaking to CBS News Philadelphia’s Joe Holden, Harris said she’s “honored” to have Obama’s support on the campaign trail. “And people like Bruce Springsteen, to have their support, and of course he is an American icon, I think it just shows the breadth and depth of the support that we have,” Harris said.
When asked if any other big name supporters are planning to turn out for the event Monday, Harris said with a laugh, “I have nothing to report at this moment. Stay tuned, however.”
Earlier this month, Springsteen endorsed Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
