The Odysseus lander designed by private aerospace company Intuitive Machines has become the first US-made spacecraft to touch down on the Moon since 1972. It was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 15.
“Without a doubt, our equipment is on the surface of the Moon, and we are transmitting,” Intuitive Machines co-founder Tim Crain said during the livestream.
“Today for the first time in more than a half-century, the US has returned to the Moon,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said shortly after the 14-foot-tall lander successfully reached the lunar surface. “Today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA’s commercial partnerships.”
While orbiting the Moon, Odysseus snapped a picture of the Bel’kovich crater.
Odysseus’ Terrain Relative Navigation camera captured this image of the Bel’kovich K crater in the Moon’s northern equatorial highlands.It is an approximate 50 km diameter crater with mountains in the center, made when the crater was formed.(21FEB2024 1750 CST) pic.twitter.com/0egu0NOrKP
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 21, 2024
The lander contains six NASA research devices, including equipment for analyzing lunar soil and the electron plasma.
The Odysseus also carries a work by American artist Jeff Koons – a transparent box with 125 stainless-steel round sculptures representing the phases of the Moon.
Just a couple hours away from the launch at 1AM EST Feb 14 of my artworks Moon Phases on Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission. The images capture the Nova-C lunar lander being encapsulated on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. I am honored to have the first authorized artwork on the Moon. pic.twitter.com/RpuSjbr7de
— Jeff Koons (@JeffKoons) February 13, 2024
The US stopped sending landers on the Moon after the Apollo 17 mission concluded in December 1972.
Last month, NASA announced that its Artemis II mission – a crewed lunar flyby – has been delayed until September 2025. The return of astronauts on the Moon is now expected in September 2026.
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