Challenges of Robotic Moon Landing

Achieving a successful soft landing on the moon with robotic landers is a difficult task, as evidenced by the limited success rates of previous attempts. While Japan's and India's national space agencies have succeeded, a Russian probe and two private missions from Japanese and American companies failed. Odysseus aims to become the first private company to achieve a successful soft landing on the moon, marking the first American-made spacecraft to do so in five decades. The absence of a pilot for real-time spacecraft control and the necessity for autonomous decision-making during the landing process make the task even more challenging, with a high risk of failure.