For the first time in over 50 years, Americans have returned to the moon. A week after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket, the unmanned Odysseus spacecraft gently touched down on the moon’s surface on Thursday, ushering in a historic lunar landing.
Houston-based Intuitive Machines designed and operated the lander, which is now the first commercial spacecraft to land on the moon. The lunar landing also marks the first by an American-built spacecraft since NASA’s final Apollo mission in 1972.
“Houston, Odysseus has found its new home,” Stephen Altemus, president and CEO of Intuitive Machines, said shortly after the landing at 5:23 p.m. CST.
The landing was announced about 10 minutes after it occurred, due to communication issues. Tension rose as the team behind the IM-1 mission waited for confirmation with bated breath.
“I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface and we are transmitting,” Altemus said. “Welcome to the moon.”
What is the Odysseus lunar lander?
The Odysseus lander, named after the Greek hero from Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey,” launched into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Intuitive Machines designed the Odysseus to transport cargo for NASA and other private customers to the lunar surface for the IM-1 mission. The lander, formally known as a Nova-C, is a 14-foot-tall hexagonal cylinder with six legs that the space company has been operating from a mission control center in Houston.
Odysseus may be the first privately built spacecraft to reach the moon, but it is far from the first attempt.
Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based aerospace company, launched its Peregrine lander on a doomed mission to the moon in January, and the spacecraft burned up in Earth’s atmosphere several days later.
Shortly after the craft separated from the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, Peregrine’s propulsion began leaking a critical amount of propellant, forcing Astrobotic to abandon plans for landing on the moon.