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Odysseus is the primary spacecraft constructed by a personal firm to land on the moon’s floor.
America has carried out its first moon touchdown in additional than half a century with a spacecraft constructed and operated by a Texas-based non-public firm.
Odysseus, an unmanned robotic lander constructed by Houston-based Intuitive Machines with funding from NASA, landed close to the moon’s south pole round 23:23 GMT, the corporate introduced in a webcast on Thursday.
The profitable touchdown adopted an exciting closing descent, throughout which flight controllers needed to change to an untested touchdown system after an issue arose with the spacecraft’s autonomous navigation system.
NASA Administrator Invoice Nelson described the touchdown as a “triumph for humanity” and a “new journey in science, innovation and American management in area.”
“At the moment the US returned to the moon for the primary time in half a century,” Nelson mentioned in a video on social media.
“At the moment, for the primary time in human historical past, a business firm, an American firm, launched and led the journey there. And right this moment is a day that reveals the facility and promise of NASA’s business partnerships.”
At the moment, America returned to the moon for the primary time in half a century .
On the eighth day of a journey of 1 / 4 of one million miles, @Int_Machines skilled the touchdown of his life.
What an achievement for IM, @SpaceX & @NASA.
What a triumph for humanity.
Odysseus has taken the moon. pic.twitter.com/JwtCQmMS2K
— Invoice Nelson (@SenBillNelson) February 23, 2024
Intuitive Machines’ mission, the primary profitable moon touchdown by a personal firm, follows a failed bid by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Expertise final month that ended with the lander plummeting again to Earth.
The final time an American spacecraft landed on the moon was in 1972 when Apollo 17 introduced astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt to the lunar floor.
Solely 4 nations, aside from the US, have efficiently landed on the moon.
Japan turned the fifth nation to perform the feat final month when it landed its so-called ‘Moon Sniper’ spacecraft on the lunar floor, following within the footsteps of the previous Soviet Union, China and India.
Odysseus launched from Florida on February 15 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The hexagonal craft carried NASA’s scientific devices, together with cameras and a tool to investigate clouds of charged mud particles, and cargo shipped on behalf of personal clients, together with the newest insulating jacket material produced by Columbia Sportswear.
Photo voltaic-powered Odysseus is predicted to function on the moon’s floor for per week earlier than the lunar evening renders the lander ineffective.
US carries out first moon touchdown since 1972 with spacecraft Odysseus | Information
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