A private lander named Odysseus made a historic moon landing on February 22, 2024, achieving the first US lunar touchdown in over 50 years.
The lander was built and managed by Intuitive Machines under contract with NASA. It faced some technical issues with its laser navigation system but was able to activate a backup system and landed safely.
However, communication with the lander was weak after landing, making it difficult for flight controllers to gain better contact and assess the condition and location of the lander on the moon’s surface.
Still, Intuitive Machines confirmed the successful touchdown, marking the first private business to achieve a lunar landing. It delivered several experiments to the moon for NASA.
The landing puts the US back on the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo moon landings in the 1970s and helps further NASA’s goal of commercializing lunar delivery missions ahead of returning astronauts to the moon in the next few years.
The mission faced challenges with its laser navigation system in the final hours but was able to switch to an experimental NASA laser and take an extra lap around the moon before targeting its landing site near the lunar south pole.
Source: pix11
