The United States landed on the moon Thursday night with the unmanned spacecraft Odysseus, the first person to do so in more than 50 years.
In a joint effort led by Intuitive Machines, NASA and SpaceX, Intuitive Machines Chief Technology Tim Crane announced that Odysseus has reached Earth's surface after a very long journey. new york times report.
“Odysseus has a new home”!!! Congratulations! @Int_Machines For soft landing on the moon!!! We hope all systems are checked successfully and we will get great images soon.
— Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) February 22, 2024
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.@Int_Machines Mission Director: “What we can confirm with certainty is that our instruments are on the moon and transmitting.” pic.twitter.com/MHwOiTk3Uo
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 23, 2024
Last week, on February 15, Odysseus was launched into orbit “into a moon-bound orbit” by a SpaceX Rocket 9, the Times detailed. (Related: Musk's SpaceX has deep ties to the U.S. intelligence community – and those ties are only deepening)
On February 15, 2024, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Nova-C lunar lander, manufactured and owned by Intuitive Machines, will lift off on the IM-1 mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA.REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
In the lead-up to the scheduled landing, there was widespread concern that Odysseus had crashed due to a communications failure.
Despite these concerns, Crane assured the world that robotic spacecraft “are definitely landing and operating on the moon,” the Times reported.
However, it remains unclear whether the mission will be able to achieve its objectives, which include taking updated surface-level images of the only moon orbiting Earth.
The last time the United States landed on the moon was Apollo 17, a manned mission launched in December 1972. Hit Britannica. (Related: NASA announces crew for first moon landing in 50 years)
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