(VOVWORLD) -Intuitive Machines' Odysseus spacecraft successfully completed a historic moon landing on Friday morning, marking the first US moon landing in 52 years and the first ever moon landing by a private company.
 Image of the Odysseus spacecraft approaching the moon. (Photo: AP) |
According to the US Space Agency (NASA) and leaders of the Intuitive Machines company, Odysseus landed near the south pole of the moon at 6:23 am Friday (Vietnam time).
There is no video recording of the ship's landing, and the exact status of the lander remains unclear, but the company confirmed that it made contact and received a weak signal from the ship.
Intuitive Machines Chief Technology Officer Tim Crain said, “The team is evaluating how to refine the lone signal from the lander, named Odysseus. But we can confirm, without a doubt, that our equipment is on the surface of the moon.”
Intuitive Machines launched the "IM-1" mission to the moon on February 15. Odysseus took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a Falcon 9 rocket developed by SpaceX.
Odysseus's main task on the moon’s surface is to survey the environment, resources, and potential dangers to prepare for sending people to the moon, which is expected to be carried out by NASA in the next two or three years during a mission named Artemis III. NASA contributed 118 million USD to the mission to send Odysseus to the moon.