The Odysseus Lunar Module made a historic lunar landing Thursday afternoon, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to land on the moon and the first U.S. mission to land on the moon in more than 50 years.
“I know this was painful, but we’re on the ground and we’re communicating. Welcome to the moon,” Intuitive Machines CEO Stephen Altemus said after the successful landing.
“Odysseus has a new home”, Intuitive Machines Posted in Xthe platform formerly known as Twitter.
The long-awaited landing by Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that developed the spacecraft, was not guaranteed.Before landing, the robotic spacecraft encountered problems and expected touchdown time I’m late.
The spacecraft landed on the moon’s surface, but contact with the spacecraft was weak and the company did not immediately provide an update on the situation, the Associated Press reported.
The Odysseus unmanned lander was in orbit around the moon six days after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sailing toward the South Pole.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson the mission said It carried dreams and new adventures in “American leadership in science, innovation, and space.”
Odysseus is carrying NASA scientific equipment and experiments. Through this mission, Intuitive Machines aimed to become the first private company to land on the moon, a feat previously achieved by only five countries.
Last month, Japan became the fifth country to land on the moon, following Russia, the United States, China and India, the Associated Press reported.
Another company attempted to land on the moon last month, but the spacecraft crashed toward Earth, according to the Associated Press.
Thursday’s landing was the first U.S. moon landing since Apollo 17 in 1972, and the last time humans set foot on the lunar surface.
After landing, cheers erupted in NASA’s mission control room, and the mission director announced on a livestream that “we can confirm without a doubt that our device is on the moon.”
NASA posted online Celebrating the landing, the spacecraft touched down at 6:23 p.m. ET and said it had “bring NASA science to the surface of the moon.”
“These instruments will be ready for future lunar exploration under #Artemis,” the group posted.
NASA said Artemis is “the first step in the next era.” space exploration. NASA will work with commercial and international partners to “establish a sustainable presence” on the moon and prepare for missions to Mars.first manned mission to the moon Scheduled for September 2025.
Updated at 7:54 PM ET.
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