For the first time in more than fifty years, a U.S. spacecraft has touched the Moon.
Intuitive Machines’ uncrewed IM-1 lunar lander, also called Odysseus, touched down near Moon’s South Pole at 6:24 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Carrying NASA science and technology to the Moon, Houston-based Intuitive Machines has become the first commercial company to place a spacecraft on the Moon.
The Odysseus robot encountered an unexpected issue with its navigation systems hours before landing, but controllers confirmed later that a signal was received from the lunar surface shortly after landing.
The spacecraft was “upright and starting to send data,” Intuitive Machines said in an update posted on X.
“I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface, and we are transmitting,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus announced on a live webcast.
The last time the United States put its footmark on the Moon’s surface was in 1972, when the last Apollo mission made a soft-landing.
“Today for the first time in more than a half-century, the US has returned to the moon,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA’s commercial partnerships. Congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring quest.”
Odysseus is carrying six NASA science investigations and technology demonstrations, which will prepare the U.S. space agency for its future human exploration of the Moon under Artemis.
The United States had committed to flying international astronauts around the moon as part of Artemis program, the most ambitious space exploration effort in generations.
Through upcoming Artemis 2 and 3 missions, NASA plans to land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon.
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