The Odysseus spacecraft, manufactured by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, has successfully landed on the surface of the Moon. It is the first time a spacecraft from a private company has landed on the lunar surface, and it is the first US-made craft to reach the moon since the Apollo missions.
Odysseus was carrying NASA instruments that the space agency said will be used to prepare for future crewed missions to the moon under . NASA confirmed that the landing occurred at 6:23 PM ET on February 22. The descent module from Earth on February 15 using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
According to , there were some “technical problems with the flight” that delayed the landing by several hours. Intuitive Machines CTO Tim Crane told the paper that “Odysseus is definitely on the moon and working, but it remains to be seen whether the mission can achieve its goals.” Odysseus has a limited window of about a week to send data back to Earth before darkness falls and renders the solar-powered ship inoperable.
Intuitive Machines wasn’t the first private company to try to land. Astrobotic crafting last month with its Peregrine lander, but was unsuccessful. Intuitive Machines plans to launch lunar landers this year.
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