The IM-2 lander is beginning its vertical descent where the lander’s Guidance and Navigation Control system flies the lander to a point approximately 98 feet (30 meters) above the designated landing site. Then the lander goes into a vertical descent at about 10 feet-per-second (3-meters-per-second). After that, the lander brakes to a 3-feet-per-second (1-meter-per-second) descent rate about 32 feet (10 meters) above the surface, preparing for terminal descent and landing.
During terminal descent, the lander uses inertial measurements only. No cameras or lasers are guiding the spacecraft to the lunar surface because they would read lunar dust kicking up from the lander’s engine. The lander is designed to land at a 3-feet-per-second (1-meter-per-second) velocity.
