The Odysseus has become the first US spacecraft to land on the moon in 50 years

The Odysseus spacecraft made by Houston-based Intuitive Machines has efficiently landed on the floor of the moon. It marks the primary time a spacecraft from a non-public firm has landed on the lunar floor, and it’s the primary US-made craft to achieve the moon for the reason that Apollo missions.

Odysseus was carrying NASA devices, which the area company stated can be used to assist put together for future crewed missions to the moon underneath the Artemis program. NASA confirmed the touchdown occurred at 6:23 PM ET on February 22. The lander launched from Earth on February 15, with the assistance of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

In response to The New York Times, there have been some “technical points with the flight” that delayed the touchdown for a few hours. Intuitive Machines CTO Tim Crain instructed the paper that “Odysseus is certainly on the moon and working however it stays to be seen whether or not the mission can obtain its goals.” Odysseus has a restricted window of a couple of week to ship knowledge again right down to Earth earlier than darkness units in and makes the solar-powered craft inoperable.

Intuitive Machines wasn’t the primary non-public firm to try a touchdown. Astrobotic made an attempt final month with its Peregrine lander, however was unsuccessful. Intuitive Machines is planning to launch two other lunar landers this 12 months.