PORTLAND, Ore. —
For the first time in more than 50 years, the U.S. has successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon. And the lander that touched down on Thursday around 3:30 p.m. was sporting some innovative technology from a local Portland company.
Columbia Sportswear has patented its OMNI-heat material, which lines many of their jackets, to help trap heat and keep people warm.
Now, it’s performing that same function for a 14-foot-tall lunar module that will spend the next seven days near the moon’s south pole, where temperatures can range from less than 200 degrees below zero to more than 200 degrees above zero.
The material was actually inspired by the silvery space blankets astronauts have used in previous space flights, so it was a bit of a full-circle moment, said Columbia CEO Tim Boyle.
“We’re very excited,” Boyle said before the lander touched down. “This was a product that was developed here in Portland, so there’s a lot to be proud of if you're a Portlander.”
The lander, named Odysseus, was built by a company called Intuitive Machines, the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon. They teamed up with NASA, which loaded the lander up with instruments that will collect data and look for signs of ice on the lunar surface.
The lander and the instruments it has in tow are expected to be in operation for roughly seven days. After that, the sun will set on the moon’s south pole, the temperature will plummet, and it will be too cold for the instruments to operate.
“Just to be recognized as a great intergalactic sportswear and outdoor company is terrific,” Boyle said, “but to have one of the products we developed here on the moon actually participating in keeping the device at the right temperature is just a thrill.”
There was a bit of delay between when the lander was scheduled to touch down and when flight crews in Houston were able to confirm that it had done so safely, resulting in some tense moments at the Columbia headquarters as a crowd of hundreds waited to hear the fate of the lander.
Cheers broke out when the announcement came and Boyle took to the stage to raise a glass, proclaiming, “Houston, there is no problem!”
Boyle said Columbia has signed on with Intuitive solutions for a few more missions, so this likely isn’t the last time we see some of their gear traveling through space.