Odysseus was the first spacecraft built by a private company to land on the moon.
The United States successfully landed on the moon for the first time in more than half a century, using a spacecraft built and operated by a Texas-based private company.
Odysseus, an unmanned robotic lander built by Houston-based Intuitive Machines with funding from NASA, landed near the moon's south pole at approximately 23:23 GMT, the company announced in a webcast Thursday. did.
The successful landing came after a tense final descent in which a problem with the spacecraft's autonomous navigation system forced flight controllers to switch to an untested landing system.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called the landing a “triumph for humanity” and “a new adventure in science, innovation, and American leadership in space.”
“Today, for the first time in half a century, America returned to the moon,” Nelson said in a video posted on social media.
“Today, for the first time in human history, an American commercial company set out to lead the journey there. And today is a day that demonstrates the power and promise of NASA's commercial partnerships.”
Today, for the first time in half a century, America is back on the moon 🇺🇸.
On the 8th day of a 250,000 mile voyage, @Int_Machines I made the landing of a lifetime.
What a feat for IM, @SpaceX & @NASA.
What a victory for humanity!
Odysseus captured the moon. pic.twitter.com/JwtCQmMS2K
— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) February 23, 2024
Intuitive Machines' mission is the first successful moon landing by a private company and follows a failed bid by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technologies last month that ended when the lander crashed to Earth. .
The last time an American spacecraft landed on the moon was in 1972, when Apollo 17 took astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt to the moon's surface.
Only four countries other than the United States have successfully landed on the moon.
Last month, Japan landed a so-called “Moon Sniper” spacecraft on the moon, becoming the fifth country to accomplish the feat, following the former Soviet Union, China and India.
Odysseus launched from Florida on February 15 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The hexagonal spacecraft carries NASA scientific equipment, including cameras and equipment that analyzes charged particle clouds, as well as cargo transported on behalf of private customers, including the latest insulating jacket fabric manufactured by Columbia Sportswear. It was piled up.
Odysseus will run on solar power and is expected to operate on the lunar surface for a week before lunar night renders the lander inoperable.