The Odysseus spacecraft from Houston-based Intuitive Machines successfully landed on the surface of the Moon. This is the first time a privately owned spacecraft has landed on Earth's natural satellite, and it is the first American-made vehicle to reach the Moon since the Apollo missions.
Your order was delivered… to the Moon! 📦@Int_Machines‘ uncrewed lunar lander landed at 6:23pm ET (2323 UTC), bringing NASA science to the Moon’s surface. These instruments will prepare us for future human exploration of the Moon under #Artemis. pic.twitter.com/sS0poiWxrU
— NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2024
Odysseus carried NASA instruments that the space agency said will be used to prepare for future manned missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. NASA confirmed that the landing took place at 1:23 Kyiv time on February 23. The lander launched from Earth on February 15 using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX launched Odysseus, the first private lander to the moon, and moved its headquarters from Delaware to Texas
During the flight, some “technical problems” arose that delayed the landing for several hours, Engadget reports. Intuitive Machines CTO Tim Crane said:
Odysseus is definitely on the Moon and operating, but it remains to be seen whether the mission will be able to achieve its goals. Odysseus has a limited time – about a week – to send data back to Earth before darkness sets in and renders the solar-powered craft inoperable.
Intuitive Machines wasn't the first private company to attempt a landing. Last month, Astrobotic made an attempt with its Peregrine lander, but it was unsuccessful. Intuitive Machines plans to launch two more lunar landers this year.
Intuitive Machines' lunar probe sends home its first images from space
The competition for ITS authors continues. Write an article about the development of games, gaming and gaming devices and win a professional gaming wheel Logitech G923 Racing Wheel, or one of the low-profile gaming keyboards Logitech G815 LIGHTSYNC RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard!