Click Here – "Defying Gravity"

Podcast: Click Here, Recorded Future News
Air Date: April 14, 2026
Host: Dina Temple-Reston
Featured Guest: Tim Crane, CTO, Intuitive Machines

Episode Overview

This episode tells the dramatic behind-the-scenes story of how a "scrappy lunar lander" named Odysseus (nicknamed Odie) nearly didn’t make it to the surface of the moon—yet ended up paving the way for future crewed lunar missions like Artemis 2. Host Dina Temple-Reston and guest Tim Crane recount the white-knuckle moments of near disaster, resourceful teamwork, and technical improvisation that defined the mission, highlighting how risks and miracles go hand-in-hand in space exploration. The second half of the episode covers major cybersecurity and tech news, including Iranian cyber threats and the release of a powerful AI security model.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Joy of Artemis 2 and Moon Missions

• [00:44] Dina frames the context: Recent Artemis 2 flight rekindles global excitement about lunar exploration—four astronauts' journey brings “moon joy.”
  • “Not just a mission, not just a milestone, but joy. Moon joy.” (Dina Temple-Reston, 00:44)
• Reaching such milestones is possible thanks to precursor, less-publicized missions: Enter Odysseus.

2. Origins of the Odysseus (Odie) Mission

• [04:01] Tim Crane, a lifelong space enthusiast, leads Intuitive Machines. Inspired since childhood by the Apollo era and space shuttle landings.
  • “It was like an electric shock ran through my body. And I knew that I was going to work…on planes or spacecraft or starships or warp drives or something.” (Tim Crane, 05:02)
• Intuitive Machines, with Crane as CTO, won the NASA contract in 2019 to land a private vehicle at the moon’s South Pole—an unprecedented challenge.

3. The Mission’s Technological and Logistical Hurdles

• At the moon’s South Pole: terrain is perilous, navigation and communication are challenging due to topography and erratic sunlight.
  • “The terrain there is serrated and shadow soaked. Sunlight skims the surface at odd angles, which confuses navigation systems.” (Dina Temple-Reston, 06:57)
  • Water in craters—essential for future lunar settlements but its form is unknown. (Tim Crane, 07:19 & 07:51)

4. The Landing Crisis: Altimeter Failure

• [11:08] On final lunar approach, mission control discovers Odie’s laser altimeter isn't working. Stakes are high; without it, safe landing is nearly impossible.
  • “Hey, Tim, the laser altimeters aren't going to fire. And the blood just drained from my face.” (Tim Crane, 11:08)
  • “If you’re a little bit high, you’re going to run out of fuel. If you’re a little bit low, you could potentially smash into the moon…You crash.” (Tim Crane, 12:02)

5. The Hack: Adapting a Doppler Lidar for Survival

• The team ingeniously repurposes a NASA Doppler lidar experiment on board, rewriting software in a matter of hours to make it function as a makeshift altitude and velocity sensor.
  • “The hack would essentially give Odie some new commands…instead of your regular altimeter.” (Dina Temple-Reston, 17:03)
  • “We had two orbits to go. Each orbit's about two hours, so we're about four hours from landing.” (Tim Crane, 17:21)
• As the lander passed behind the moon, mission control lost communication—forcing the team to wait, breathless, hoping their code worked.

6. The ‘It’s Alive’ Moment and Hard Landing

• [18:58] Odie reboots successfully—“It’s alive!” erupts through the control room.
  • “I gotta tell you, the visual odometry performance that we were seeing on our consoles was better than we'd ever seen in testing.” (Tim Crane, 19:09)
• Relief turns to tension as data reveals Odie is descending dangerously fast, but it manages to land—hard, but intact.
  • “We were coming in fast. We were probably a couple hundred meters lower than we anticipated…We hit hard.” (Tim Crane, 19:49 & 20:06)
  • “Houston, Odysseus has found his new home.” (Tim Crane, 20:17)

7. Big Moments, Big Lessons

• Odie’s successful landing—the first US touchdown in 52 years—enabled crucial science and set the stage for Artemis 2’s route around the moon.
  • “So when Artemis 2 looped around the Moon, it wasn’t flying blind.” (Dina Temple-Reston, 21:00)
  • The razor-thin margin between “miracle and mistake in space is only a few keystrokes wide.” (Dina Temple-Reston, 21:06)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tim Crane on childhood wonder:
  • “It was like an electric shock ran through my body…and I knew what I was going to do.” (05:02)
• Describing Odie:
  • “We early on kind of said, this spacecraft’s a fighter. And then…a scrappy little dude.” (06:08)
• Crisis revelation:
  • “Hey, Tim, the laser altimeters aren’t going to fire.” (11:08)
• Pure tension:
  • “There was nothing we could do. There was no more modifications to make. We can’t talk to the vehicle anymore. It was…really strange pressure relief knowing that you just had to wait.” (Tim Crane, 18:27)
• Success after code reboot:
  • “It's alive.” (Tim Crane, 18:58)
  • “Houston, Odysseus has found his new home.” (Tim Crane, 20:17)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:44 – Describing “moon joy” from Artemis 2
• 05:02 – Tim Crane’s childhood epiphany
• 06:57 & 07:19 – Lunar south pole terrain and water challenges
• 11:08 – Discovery of altimeter malfunction
• 15:56 – Inventory of Odie’s sensors; idea to adapt Doppler lidar
• 17:21–18:27 – Race to rewrite code, loss of signal
• 18:58–19:09 – Odie reboots successfully
• 20:06–20:17 – Odie’s hard landing and confirmation of success
• 21:00–21:06 – Lessons for the future: “miracle and mistake”

Cybersecurity & Tech News Roundup (Post-Story, 22:10–26:40)

Iranian Cyber Threats

• Iranian hackers targeting US infrastructure, especially programmable controllers by Rockwell Automation.
  • “This is what modern warfare has become. You shut off somebody’s water or disrupt their electricity in some way.” (Tim Crane, 22:30)
• US officials warn of escalating attacks; companies advised to disconnect vulnerable devices.

AI Model Claude Mythos & Project Glasswing

• Anthropic develops an AI model so powerful at finding security vulnerabilities it’s only released to a coalition of major tech firms to avoid misuse.
  • “The system can carry out autonomous security research and has already flagged thousands of issues…” (Dina Temple-Reston, 23:54)
• Project aims to stay ahead of potential cybercriminal exploitation.

Telemedicine Lawsuit

• Connecticut family sues over ICU death allegedly caused by lack of in-person specialists and reliance on a telemedicine system.

Satoshi Nakamoto Investigation

• New York Times points to Adam Back as the possible creator of Bitcoin—compelling circumstantial evidence, but still unconfirmed identity.

Conclusion

This episode offers an inside look at modern space missions where improvisation, coding, and old-school problem solving meet at the lunar frontier. It highlights the human factors behind technical breakthroughs and their impact on both exploration and digital security.

“The line between miracle and mistake in space is only a few keystrokes wide.” (Dina Temple-Reston, 21:06)