Odysseus makes history by becoming the first private module to successfully land on the Moon

These were the words of Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, after the successful landing of the Odysseus lunar module.

The spacecraft, also known as the Nova-C lander, Touched our satellite on Thursday, A week after its release.

“Houston, Odysseus has found its new home,” responded Tim Crain, the company’s technology director, amid celebrations among operators in the control tower.

The operation was broadcast live from there, although contact was lost in the last seconds before landing and it was thought that it had failed.

is about first ship developed by a private company He landed on the Moon and is also the first American to do so in more than 50 years, since the famous Apollo program and its last mission: Apollo 17 in 1972.

NASA Director Bill Nelson called the achievement “a giant leap forward for all of humanity,” echoing the words of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon in 1969.

Odysseus was launched into space on February 9 aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket and during the following days traveled approximately one million kilometers Till reaching the orbit of the Moon.

Before landing on the Moon, the exact time at which the spacecraft would touch down had to be adjusted several times.

Landed near a crater called Malapert A, located in the area of south polar region Of satellite.

Landing on the Moon in that specific location represents a significant technical challenge, given the precision required to land in an area of ​​scientific interest and the complexity of the descent maneuvers.

The Moon’s south polar region has long been of interest to scientists, as its permanently shadowed craters are thought to contain abundant amounts of frozen water.

Analysis by Jonathan Amos, BBC science correspondent

We have just witnessed a watershed moment, not only for the commercial exploitation of space but for the American space program in general.

Intuitive machines have ended the United States’ half-century absence from the lunar surface. No American team had made a soft landing on the Moon since the last Apollo mission.

There’s no one in the Odysseus space module, it’s just a robot, but its planned scientific investigations make it an explorer for the return of astronauts later this decade.

Now we all ask ourselves this question: In what condition is it?

It apparently landed softly enough to transmit back to Earth, but Intuitive Machines’ controllers don’t have the clarity they were hoping for… at least not yet.

Over the next few hours, as engineers work to understand the signals coming from the Moon, a picture of the ship’s condition will emerge.

Recall that the Japanese space agency had to wait for a few hours before telling us that its slim lander was down and safe, despite being in an awkward position.

Odysseus may also find himself in an awkward situation.

But don’t underestimate what just happened. The United States is back on the Moon.

NASA paid US$118 million Intuitive machines to carry out the operation.

Odysseus will operate for a maximum of seven Earth days, which is the length of the lunar day before losing power due to the arrival of night on the satellite.

module to the moon NASA scientific instruments and commercial cargo,

The former will be used to conduct scientific research on the lunar surface, particularly in the south pole region, which could provide valuable information on lunar geology, soil composition, and radiation environment, among other aspects.

they will also allow Test new technologies in the lunar environmentFrom landing procedures to scientific instruments and mobility systems, that will pave the way for future human and robotic exploration missions.

In addition, the mission seeks to lay the foundation for the transportation and deployment of commercial customer payloads, which could include communications technology, private scientific experiments, and even cultural or propaganda equipment.

Remember that you can receive our notifications. Download the new versions of the apps and activate them so you don’t miss our best content,