The Odysseus spacecraft of the Houston-based private company Intuitive Machines has successfully landed on the lunar surface. This is the first time a private company’s spacecraft has landed on Earth’s natural satellite, and it is the first U.S.-made vehicle to reach the Moon since the Apollo missions.
Odysseus was carrying NASA instruments, which, according to the space agency, will be used to prepare for future manned missions to the Moon under the Artemis program. NASA confirmed that the landing took place at 1:23 a.m. Kyiv time on February 23. The lander was launched from Earth on February 15 using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
During the flight, there were some «technical problems» that delayed the landing for several hours, transmits Engadget. Intuitive Machines CTO Tim Crane said:
Odysseus is definitely on the Moon and working, but it is not yet known 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 vehicle inoperable.
Intuitive Machines was not the first private company to attempt a landing. Last month, Astrobotic made an attempt with its lander Peregrinebut it was unsuccessful. This year, Intuitive Machines plans to launch two more lunar vehicles.