U.S. spacecraft's first Moon landing since 1972 "a big deal," Chicago expert says
CHICAGO (CBS) – It hasn't been done in half a century, but on Thursday a U.S. spacecraft was expected to land on the moon.
One local expert has been tracking the progress of the mission since last week's launch.
"Looking forward to that permanent presence on the moon is just incredibly exciting," said Geza Gyuk, the director of astronomy at the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum.
The lunar lander rocketing into space is called Odysseus, built by a Houston-based company called Intuitive Machines. The mission is part of NASA's commercial payload services program, laying the foundation for humans to make it back to the moon.
"It's really exciting," Gyuk said. "It's part of the Artemis Project, so this is sort of testing out the technologies necessary to deliver payloads to the moon."
A successful landing would mark the first time in over 50 years for a U.S.-built spacecraft and the first time ever for a private company.
"It is a big deal, and it's tough," he said. "I mean, the moon's our closest neighbor, but, and I have to say, the Apollo missions made it look easy."
The lander is carrying NASA experiments and other payloads, even a bit of art.
"Art is part of the human experience, right?" Gyuk said. "I mean, it's sort of central to us just look science."
Odysseus will rely on on-board cameras and lasers to land, a little different than the Apollo missions.
"The lander has to have a little bit more smarts," Gyuk said. "You know, to be able to actively avoid hazards and so forth."
The mission could lead to humans taking the next steps on the moon.
"It's not just history," Gyuk said. "Exploration is not done. We're still going out there and we're still learning new things and we're still learning how to do things in space."