EagleCam

CubeSat camera system to capture Odysseus landing

It has been suggested that this article be merged into IM-1. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2024.

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EagleCam

The EagleCam CubeSat and its dispenser at deployment

Mission type| Technology demonstration
Operator| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Intuitive Machines
Website| https://erau.edu/eaglecam
Mission duration| Launch to Landing: 13 days
On surface: 30 minutes (lifespan)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft| EagleCam
Spacecraft type| CubeSat
Bus| 1.5U CubeSat
Manufacturer| ERAU Space Technologies Laboratory
Dimensions| 100 mm x 100 mm x 150 mm [1]
Start of mission
Launch date| February 15, 2024, 06:05:37 (2024-02-15UTC06:05:37) UTC
Rocket| Falcon 9 Block 5 F9-299
Launch site| LC-39A
Contractor| SpaceX
Deployed from| Nova-C Odysseus lander
End of mission
Disposal| Decomissioned
Declared| March 31, 2024
Lunar lander
Landing date| February 28, 2024
Landing site| 4 m (13 ft) away from Odysseus lander, near Malapert A crater

EagleCam is a deployable CubeSat camera system designed to capture the lunar landing of the Nova-C Odysseus lander on the Moon. Designed and manufactured by staff and students working in the Space Technologies Laboratory at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, it was intended to deploy from Odysseus and take the first photographs of a spacecraft landing on the moon from a third-person perspective. It also planned to test an electrodynamic dust shield system in space for the first time and utilize a Wi-Fi connection to transmit data for the first time on the lunar surface.

## Design and objectives[edit]

EagleCam's primary payload was its camera system, consisting of three fisheye-lens[2]: 2 cameras which would take a total of nine images per second over six seconds as it was ejected from Odysseus shortly before landing. A fourth[3] camera was included to test another one of EagleCam's payloads, an electrodynamic dust shield (EDS), created by the Swamp Works facility at Kennedy Space Center.[4] The CubeSat was powered from a solar-powered battery with a lifetime of 30 minutes.[5]

Had EagleCam been successful, photographs and data taken during the lunar landing of the Odysseus lander may have enabled a better understanding of the dynamics of lunar landings on the lunar regolith and rock surfaces in the vicinity of the Moon's south pole. EagleCam would've assisted in the objectives of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, such as gaining a better understanding of the local lunar surface features to assist with preparations for future manned and unmanned missions to the Moon's south pole, through NASA's Artemis program.[6][7] However, while photos of Odysseus were never taken by EagleCam, it still recorded and transmitted other types of data to Intuitive Machines and the Space Technologies Lab via the IM-1 lander.[8] Through EagleCam, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University became the world's first university to have a payload on the moon's surface solely developed by faculty and students.[4][6][a]

A prototype of the EagleCam CubeSat flew onboard the Blue Origin NS-24 return-to-flight mission on December 19, 2023.[13]

## Mission summary[edit]

Concept of Operations Diagram for EagleCam near/on the lunar surface

The CubeSat was piggybacked with the lander and launched on a Falcon 9 rocket to the Moon via a direct-intercept trajectory.[7] This lunar landing took place on February 22, 2024. Just before landing, at approximately 30 m (98 ft) above the lunar surface, Odysseus was to eject this CubeSat. Once ejected, EagleCam was supposed to semi-hard land on the lunar surface somewhere near the lander at 10 m/s (33 ft/s). As it descended to the surface EagleCam was planned to capture the first third-person images of a lunar landing.[14] However, due to complications arising from a software patch which reconfigured the lander's sensors used during the final descent phase to the moon's surface, EagleCam was powered off and remained attached to Odysseus through landing.[15][3] It was later ejected on February 28 but was a partial failure as it returned all types of data, except post IM-1 landing images that were the main aim of its mission.[16][8] The EagleCam utilized a Wi-Fi connection with the Odysseus lander to relay its images back to Earth.[6]

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Ranger 4, a lunar impactor launched in 1962, was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which has been managed by and included faculty and students from Caltech since the early 20th century. Many lunar missions since the space race have been developed or had onboard experiments under the leadership of government agencies and academic institutions (see List of artificial objects on the Moon). More recently, the LEV-2 rover launched aboard JAXA's SLIM mission which landed on January 19, 2024, was jointly developed by JAXA, Japanese companies Tomy and Sony, and Doshisha University.[9] Tiger Eye 1, a radiation experiment designed by LSU, was also manifested for the IM-1 mission as of November 2021.[10] However, it was pushed back to launch aboard the next Intuitive Machines lunar mission IM-2 by December 2022.[11] Had Astrobotic's Peregrine Mission One been successful, two of its payloads, Iris and MoonArk, both developed by students and faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, would've been the first university-developed robotic rover and museum to land on the moon's surface respectively. Their planned landing date was February 23, 2024, one day after IM-1 and EagleCam's planned landing and deployment[12].

## References[edit]

1. ^ Korczyk, Dalton C. (May 2022). "Dynamic Analysis of CubeSat impact on Lunar Surface". Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Scholarly Commons. p. ii. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
2. ^ Posada, Daniel; Hays, Christopher W.; Jordan, Jarred; Lopez, Daniel; Yow, Taylor; Malik, Aryslan; Henderson, Troy (2023). EagleCam: a 1.5U Low-Cost CubeSat Mission for a Novel Third-Person View of a Lunar Landing. 2023 IEEE Aerospace Conference. Big Sky, Montana, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (published May 15, 2023). ISBN 978-1-6654-9032-0. ISSN 1095-323X. Retrieved March 2, 2024 - via IEEE Xplore.
3. ^ a b Dunn, Marica (February 23, 2024). "Private US spacecraft is on its side on the moon with some antennas covered up, the company says". Associated Press. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
4. ^ a b Leone, Anthony (February 21, 2024). "Learning about Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's EagleCam". Spectrum News 13 Orlando. Spectrum News. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
5. ^ Harper, Mark (February 22, 2024). "NASA, Intuitive Machines confirm Moon landing; ERAU awaits transmission of EagleCam images". Daytona Beach News-Journal. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
6. ^ a b c Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "EagleCam". Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
7. ^ a b "Eagles Visit Intuitive Machines to Make Final Preparations on EagleCam CubeSat". Embry-Riddle Newsroom. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
8. ^ a b Cavaliere, Mike (February 28, 2024). "EagleCam Updates: Public Comments by Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus". Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University News. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
9. ^ Hirano, Daichi (October 7, 2022). "Palm-Sized Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2)". JAXA. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
10. ^ Ross, Corbin (November 3, 2021). "LSU slated to be first university to land technology on the moon as U.S. returns to lunar surface 50 years later". The Reveille. Louisiana State University. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
11. ^ "Tiger Eye 1". SpaRTAN Physics Lab. SpaRTAN Physics Group. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
12. ^ Aupperlee, Aaron (January 8, 2024). "Carnegie Mellon University Payloads Iris, MoonArk Launch as Part of Historic Lunar Mission". Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
13. ^ Robinson-Smith, Will (December 19, 2023). "Blue Origin launches New Shepard rocket on return to flight mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
14. ^ Greshko, Michael (February 9, 2024). "Second Private U.S. Moon Lander Readies for Launch". Scientific American.
15. ^ "NASA, Intuitive Machines Share Images from the Moon, Provide Science Updates – Artemis". blogs.nasa.gov. February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
16. ^ @SpaceTechLab (February 28, 2024). "2/3 mission plans and procedures in order to deploy its CubeSat camera system. Despite the team's strong effort, the technical complications ultimately resulted in an inability to capture images of the Odysseus lander" (Tweet) - via Twitter.

* v
* t
* e

Spacecraft missions to the Moon

Exploration
programs|

* American
* Apollo
* Artemis-
* CLPS
* Lunar Orbiter
* Lunar Precursor
* Pioneer
* Ranger
* Surveyor
* Chinese
* Chang'e
* Indian
* Chandrayaan
* Japanese
* Japanese Lunar Exploration Program
* South Korean
* Danuri
* Russian
* Luna-Glob
* Soviet
* Crewed
* Luna
* Lunokhod
* Zond

Active
missions|

| Orbiters|

* ARTEMIS
* CAPSTONE
* Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter
* Chang'e 5-T1 (service module)
* Danuri
* Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
* Queqiao relay satellite (relay satellite at L2)
* Queqiao-2 relay satellite
* Tiandu-1
* Tiandu-2

|

Landers|

* Chang'e 3
* Chang'e 4
* SLIM

Rovers|

* Yutu-2

Flybys|

* ArgoMoon

Past
missions|

| Crewed landings|

* Apollo 11
* 12
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* (List of Apollo astronauts)

|

Orbiters|

* Apollo 8
* 10
* Apollo Lunar Module
* Artemis 1
* Chang'e 1
* 2
* 5
* Chandrayaan-1
* Clementine
* Explorer 35
* 49
* GRAIL
* Hiten
* LADEE
* Longjiang-2
* Luna 10
* 11
* 12
* 14
* 19
* 22
* Lunar Orbiter 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* Lunar Prospector
* PFS-1
* PFS-2
* SMART-1
* SELENE (Kaguya, Okina, Ouna)
* Chandrayaan-3 (propulsion module)

Impactors|

* LCROSS
* Luna 2
* Moon Impact Probe
* Ranger 4
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9

Landers|

* Apollo Lunar Module ×6
* Chang'e 5
* Luna 9
* 13
* 16
* 17
* 20
* 21
* 23
* 24
* Surveyor 1
* 3
* 5
* 6
* 7
* Vikram (Chandrayaan-3)
* EagleCam
* IM-1

Rovers|

* Lunar Roving Vehicle
* Apollo 15
* 16
* 17
* Lunokhod 1
* 2
* Yutu
* Pragyan (Chandrayaan-2)
* (Chandrayaan-3)
* LEV-1
* LEV-2

Sample return|

* Apollo 11
* 12
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* Luna 16
* 20
* 24
* Chang'e 5

Failed landings|

* Beresheet
* Emirates Lunar Mission
* Hakuto-R M1
* Luna 5
* 7
* 8
* 15
* 18
* 25
* OMOTENASHI
* Surveyor 2
* 4
* Vikram (Chandrayaan-2)
* Peregrine Mission One

Flybys|

* 4M
* Apollo 13
* Chang'e 5-T1
* Geotail
* Galileo
* ICE
* Longjiang-1
* Luna 1
* 3
* 4
* 6
* LunaH-Map
* Lunar Flashlight
* Lunar IceCube
* LunIR
* Mariner 10
* NEA Scout
* Nozomi
* Pioneer 4
* Ranger 5
* STEREO
* TESS
* WMAP
* Wind
* Zond 3
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* PAS-22

Planned
missions|

| Artemis|

* Artemis 2 (2025)
* Lunar Gateway
* Artemis 3 (2026)
* Artemis 4 (2028)
* Artemis 5 (2029)
* Artemis 6 (2030)
* Artemis 7 (2031)
* Artemis 8 (2032)

|

CLPS|

* VIPER (Nov 2024)
* IM-2 (2024)
* Lunar Trailblazer
* Blue Ghost (2024)

Luna-Glob|

* Luna 26 (2027)
* Luna 27 (2028)
* Luna 28 (2030)
* Luna 29 (2030s)
* Luna 30 (2030s)
* Luna 31 (2030s)

CLEP|

* Chang'e 6 (2024)
* Chang'e 7 (2026)
* Chang'e 8 (2028)

Others|

* Hakuto-R M2 (2024)
* DESTINY+ (2025)
* Beresheet 2 (2025)
* ispace M3 (2026)
* Lunar Pathfinder (2026)
* Cislunar Explorers (2020s)
* CU-E3 (2020s)
* MoonRanger (2020s)
* #dearMoon project (late 2020s)
* International Lunar Research Station (late 2020s)

Proposed
missions|

| Robotic|

* Lunar Polar Exploration Mission
* ALINA
* Artemis-7
* Blue Moon
* BOLAS
* Garatéa-L
* ISOCHRON
* LunaNet
* Lunar Crater Radio Telescope
* McCandless
* Moon Diver

|

Crewed|

* DSE-Alpha
* Boeing Lunar Lander
* Lockheed Martin Lunar Lander
* Lunar Orbital Station

Cancelled /
concepts|

* Altair
* Baden-Württemberg 1
* European Lunar Explorer
* First Lunar Outpost
* International Lunar Network
* LEO
* LK
* Lunar-A
* Lunar Lander
* Lunar Mission One
* Lunar Observer
* Lunokhod 3
* MoonLITE
* MoonRise
* OrbitBeyond
* Project Harvest Moon
* Prospector
* Resource Prospector
* SELENE-2
* Ukrselena
* XL-1

Related|

* Colonization of the Moon
* Google Lunar X Prize
* List of lunar probes
* List of missions to the Moon
* List of artificial objects on the Moon
* List of species that have landed on the Moon
* Lunar resources
* Apollo 17 Moon mice
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Third-party evidence for Apollo Moon landings
* Apollo 11 anniversaries
* List of crewed lunar landers

* Missions are ordered by launch date. Crewed missions are in italics.

* v
* t
* e

Lunar landing missions

Active|

| Crewed|

none

|

Robotic|

* Chang'e 4
* IM-1
* EagleCam
* SLIM

Past|

| Crewed|

* Apollo 11
* 12
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17

|

Robotic|

* Chandrayaan-3
* Chang'e 3
* 5
* Luna 9
* 13
* 16
* 17
* 20
* 21
* 23
* 24

* Surveyor 1
* 3
* 5
* 6
* 7

Failed|

* Apollo 13
* Beresheet
* Chandrayaan-2
* Hakuto-R M1
* Luna 5
* 7
* 8
* 15
* 18
* 25
* OMOTENASHI
* Peregrine
* Surveyor 2
* 4

Planned|

| Artemis|

* Artemis 3 (2026)
* 4 (2028)
* 5 (2029)
* 6 (2030)
* 7 (2031)

|

CLEP|

* Chang'e 6 (2024)
* 7 (2026)
* 8 (2028)

CLPS|

* Blue Ghost M1 (2024)
* M2 (2026)

* IM-2 (2024)
* IM-3 (2025)

Luna-Glob|

* Luna 27 (2028)
* 28 (2030)

Others|

* Beresheet 2 (SpaceIL, 2025)
* Hakuto-R M2 (ispace, 2024)
* M3 (2026)

Proposed|

| CLPS|

* Redwire
* Draper
* Firefly
* Masten
* MoonEx
* OrbitBeyond
* McCandless

|

* v
* t
* e

← 2023

Orbital launches in 2024

2025 →

January|

* XPoSat
* Starlink G7-9 (21 satellites)
* Ovzon-3
* Starlink G6-35 (23 satellites)
* Peregrine Mission One (Iris, Colmena × 5)
* Einstein Probe
* IGS-Optical 8
* Starlink G7-10 (22 satellites)
* Starlink G6-37 (23 satellites)
* Tianzhou 7
* Axiom Mission 3
* Soraya
* Starlink G7-11 (22 satellites)
* Starlink G6-38 (23 satellites)
* Starlink G7-12 (22 satellites)
* Cygnus NG-20
* Lemur-2 / Skylark × 4

February|

* PACE
* Kosmos 2575 / Razbeg №2
* Starlink G7-13 (22 satellites)
* SDA Tracking Layer Tranche 0 × 4
* Progress MS-26
* IM-1 (EagleCam)
* Starlink G7-14 (22 satellites)
* INSAT-3DS
* ADRAS-J
* Starlink G7-15 (22 satellites)
* TJS-11
* Starlink G6-39 (24 satellites)
* Meteor-M No.2-4
* Starlink G6-40 (23 satellites)

March|

* SpaceX Crew-8
* AEROS MH-1
* Starlink G6-41 (23 satellites)
* Starlink G6-43 (23 satellites)
* Starlink G7-17 (23 satellites)
* Starlink G6-44 (23 satellites)
* Starlink G7-16 (20 satellites), USA-350 / Starshield, USA-351 / Starshield
* Queqiao-2, Tiandu-1, Tiandu-2
* Yunhai-2 02 (6 satellites)
* USA-352 / RASR-5
* SpaceX CRS-30
* Starlink G6-42 (23 satellites)
* Starlink G6-46 (23 satellites)
* Yunhai-3 02
* Eutelsat 36D
* Starlink G6-45 (23 satellites)
* Resurs-P №4

April|

* Starlink G7-18 (22 satellites)
* Yaogan 42-01
* Starlink G6-47 (23 satellites)
* Starlink G8-1 (21 satellites)
* Starlink G6-48 (23 satellites)

Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Cubesats are smaller.
Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
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