Moon landing: 'Odysseus' touches down on lunar surface

A robotic spacecraft made history Thursday, becoming the first privately built craft to touch down on the lunar surface, as well as the first American vehicle to accomplish the feat in more than 50 years.

A robotic spacecraft made history Thursday becoming the first privately built craft to touch down on the lunar surface, as well as the first American vehicle to accomplish the feat in more than 50 years.

The lander, built by Intuitive Machines, touched down on the lunar surface at around 6:23 p.m. ET, overcoming a late-stage glitch with its onboard laser instruments. The Nova-C lander, nicknamed Odysseus, is now the first American spacecraft on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

"Houston, Odysseus has found its new home," the company's Chief Technology Officer Tim Crain radioed back from mission control, as employees cheered and celebrated.

It took several minutes to confirm the landing. As the spacecraft made its final descent, mission controllers lost contact with the spacecraft, as was expected to occur.

Odysseus lunar lander with the Earth in the background on Feb. 16, 2024.Intuitive Machines via APThe company said it could detect a faint signal from one of Odysseus’ antennas, but more data was needed to determine how the spacecraft landed and in what condition. About two hours later, the team received good news.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/moon-landing-odysseus-touches-down-lunar-surface-n1308924

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