"What we can confirm, without a doubt, is our equipment is on the surface of the Moon and we are transmitting," Tim Crain announced this month.
For the first time in over 50 years NASA have returned to the moon with a little (actually a lot) of help from the private firm Intuitive Machines. The space robot, named Odysseus, touched down on the south pole of the moon, relaying a signal shortly after. NASA purchased room aboard the Odysseus for six of its scientific instruments. A key investigation will be one looking at the behaviour of lunar dust, which the Apollo had issues with. They will also be looking into the presence of frozen water on the dark side of the moon. If found this would prove useful for future space missions where the water can be converted for use as fuel and also for oxygen to breathe (aside from being something future visitors could drink).
Alongside the experiments that will take place during the mission, the Odysseus also has an unusual companion - attached to it's side. Namely a piece of art by the famour artist Jeff Koons (see our other article about Jeff Koons balloon monkey), called Moon Phases. This will be a permanent installation, as the Odysseus will not be making a return journey and will stop working as soon as it's power reserves have run out. Moon Phases comprises of 125 miniature stainless-steel moons in a cubed structure. Each small stainless steel moon represents a different phase of the moon and each displays the name of an influential person from history, ranging from Plato to David Bowie.
We once installed some of our stainlesss steel kitchens in a restaurant in space... it was a lovely place, but unfortunately there there was no atmosphere.