Technologies

Odysseus Lunar Lander Sent a Farewell Photo of Earth: Now What?

All about the first US moon mission in more than 50 years. No astronauts, but this effort will help them return.

Goodbye, Odie. On Thursday, Houston-based space-exploration company Intuitive Machines bade farewell to Odysseus, the lunar lander that took the US to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. The lander had been there for a week and will remain on the moon’s surface, inoperable but remembered as a historic achievement in the annals of lunar exploration.

«Before its power was depleted, Odysseus completed a fitting farewell transmission,» the company wrote in a tweet shared on Thursday. «Received today, this image from February 22nd showcases the crescent Earth in the backdrop, a subtle reminder of humanity’s presence in the universe. Goodnight, Odie. We hope to hear from you.»

Fisheye image showing, at the bottom, part of the lander; in the middle, the lunar surface with its distinctive craters; and up top, a bright white circle against the darkness of space, with a small bright crescent to its left.

Intuitive Machines successfully landed Odysseus on the moon’s surface Feb. 22, after a seven-day space trek by the craft. It’s the first time an American vehicle has been on the surface of the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. But unlike the Apollo missions, which were entirely operated by NASA, this time the space agency hired the private company to send a lander to the moon.

The United States is the only country to ever put humans on the moon, but its focus shifted away from the lunar surface in the 1970s. In recent years, though, NASA has been planning a return, through its Artemis mission, which right now is scheduled to put boots back on the moon no earlier than September 2026 (several years after the original target date). Meanwhile, the space agency has been working with private companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Horizon on a variety of missions, including through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. The Odysseus mission was under CLPS auspices.

Here’s what to know.

Odysseus moon mission

The Odysseus mission was endorsed by NASA to collect scientific data from the moon’s surface. The lander, known internally as the Nova-C lander — and fondly to Intuitive employees as «Odie» — is about the size of a phone booth. It landed in the South Pole region of the moon called Malapert A at 6:24 p.m. ET on Feb. 22.

Odie was equipped with a host of instruments to investigate the lunar surface and radio waves and send photos back to the US, NASA said. The lander also featured a retroflector array that helped NASA identify its location and keep track of where to send other autonomous vehicles during future missions.

The launch and landing part of the mission lasted seven days, but it was fraught with drama after the Intuitive Machines team discovered that the lander’s range-finding system was inoperable and that the team needed to recode Odysseus to use a different range-finding system to pull off a safe landing. What’s worse, the team found that Odysseus was descending at a rate much faster than expected, increasing the likelihood of a crash. Luckily, that didn’t happen.

What to know about Intuitive Machines

Intuitive Machines is the first benefactor of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which the agency started in 2018. NASA researched whether to build and send a lunar lander of its own to the moon. But the space agency determined it would be cheaper, with potentially greater chances of success, to instead pay commercial companies to handle the task.

NASA paid Intuitive Machines $118 million to send Odysseus to the moon. The agency hoped to learn more about the lunar surface and where to eventually send humans back to the moon.

About the Odysseus technology

Odysseus carried several instruments for learning more about the moon and space.

En route to the moon, NASA instruments aboard the craft measured its consumption of cryogenic fuel, and while Odysseus was touching down, another instrument tested the dust the lander kicked up.

Once Odysseus was on the moon, additional technologies were used to evaluate the lunar surface. One, called the Lunar Node 1 Demonstrator, focused on autonomous navigation to show how future landers could traverse the surface. A Laser Retroflector Array conducted range-finding and distance measurements. And a radio wave instrument analyzed the moon’s surface radio waves to determine how’d they’d affect the work of humans conducting science there. Also, four cameras captured images of the lander’s environment.

Tipsy Odysseus

Intuitive Machines confirmed that Odysseus landed off-kilter after it apparently got one of its feet caught on something. The company now believes the lander is either tilted on a rock or lying on its side on the slope of a hill.

Despite the less-than-ideal positioning, Intuitive Machines was able to communicate with Odysseus and its sensors remained operational.

Short life span

Though Odysseus spent just a week on the lunar surface, that’s all it gets. The lander was slated to be operational for only nine to 10 days. After that, Intuitive Machines knew the sun would set on the landing site, and Odysseus’ radios and batteries can’t survive the extremely cold lunar nights.

What’s next

The Odysseus lander mission is just the first in a string of NASA missions that aim at eventually getting astronauts back to the moon. Like Odysseus, future landers will explore the lunar surface, scout ideal locations for landing astronauts, and perform scientific research.

For its part, Intuitive Machines isn’t done on the moon. The Odysseus mission may be over, but the company is already working on two other moon lander missions, slated to launch later this year.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Sept. 20 #566

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Sept. 20, No. 566.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be a puzzler. Some of the answers are long and a bit tough to unscramble. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Dire straits.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Oh no! Get me out of here!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

PICK, PIED, DIRT, DIRE, MANE, MILE, MAIL, MALE, DAME, FRET, MACE, RENT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

PICKLE, MESS, MUDDLE, DILEMMA, QUANDRY, PREDICAMENT

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is INAFIX. To find it, look for the I that’s four letters down on the far left, and wind up.

Technologies

Microsoft Is Hiking Xbox Series Console Prices Again. Here’s What You’ll Pay This Fall

Gaming is getting more and more expensive due to tariffs.

Microsoft will increase the prices of its Xbox Series consoles once again in October. This latest increase comes just five months after it raised prices due to tariffs.

An Xbox support page notes the upcoming price increase happening on Oct. 3, as first reported by Windows Central on Friday. Console costs will jump $20 to $70, depending on the version.

The new prices are:

Xbox Series S 512GB: $380 to $400
Xbox Series S 1TB: $430 to $450
Xbox Series X Digital: $550 to $600
Xbox Series X: $600 to $650
Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition: $730 to $800

To provide some context on the pricing, the Xbox Series S 512GB was $300 at launch, and the Xbox Series X was $500. In December 2023, the Xbox Series X went for as low as $350.

Microsoft says the price changes are «due to the changes in the macroeconomic environment.» This likely refers to the tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump, which have also caused prices to increase for other video game hardware from Nintendo and Sony.

«We are navigating an incredibly dynamic environment right now,» a company source told Windows Central. «We’ve assessed the changing macroeconomic environment and addressed the applicable impacts.»

When asked for further comment, a Microsoft spokesperson pointed CNET to the Xbox support page.

Where to get an Xbox Series X at its original price

The Xbox price hike won’t take effect until Oct. 3. Until then, you can pick up the Xbox Series consoles for the current pricing at retailers including Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart.

Technologies

The New Meta Ray-Bans Might Be Your Next Disneyland Tour Guide

Disney’s Imagineers are prototyping a virtual assistant to guide you through its theme parks via your own smart glasses.

Walt Disney Imagineering is in the early stages of prototyping a new augmented reality experience at its theme parks. This week, the team released a video showing Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses used as a personal virtual assistant inside Disneyland.

Meta is just one of the companies Disney Imagineering R&D is working with on AR. The Ray-Ban smart glasses allow Disney guests to ask questions out loud and receive real-time responses with information about rides, attractions, merchandise, food and directions.

Disney Imagineering’s R&D team has been working on early prototypes for how our AI glasses can help bring easy to access tips while in the parks, using our new Device Access Toolkit pic.twitter.com/japyanoSEh

— Jake Steinerman (@jasteinerman) September 18, 2025

The video shows a Disney cast member walking through Disneyland wearing Meta Ray-Bans. As she approaches the paddleboat attraction, she asks, «What’s that, and how can I ride it?»

«That’s the Mark Twain River Boat,» the AI-powered glasses respond instantly. «It’s nearby and you can board for a relaxing 14-minute cruise.»

She proceeds to ask, «Where can I get a gluten-free snack?» The answer is, at a snack stand nearby, with the glasses offering to check the full menu for her. She also asks whether a certain ride is appropriate for her 4-year-old, and focuses on a guest’s Porg keychain to inquire, «Where can I get one of those?» It responds by telling her it’s from a store in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.

Another part shows the glasses suggesting activities. «Pirates of the Caribbean currently has a short wait time. Want directions?» And «Winnie the Pooh is nearby, want to meet him?»

Meta’s latest Ray-Bans were unveiled on Wednesday. The second-generation Meta smart glasses have received AI upgrades, a better battery life and an improved camera. They are available now for $379.

Augmented reality experiences have become a way for theme parks to distinguish themselves from the competition. Earlier this year, Universal opened its brand new theme park, Epic Universe, featuring a blend of immersive technology.

Disney doesn’t shy away from using the latest technology in its parks and experiences. There are wearables for park and hotel room entry, new Haunted Mansion illusions and apps for checking ride wait times or voting for that evening’s nighttime entertainment. Let’s not forget the latest Walt Disney animatronics or Disney’s groundbreaking holotile floor, either.