The U.S. landed on the moon for the first time in 50 years when the unmanned spacecraft Odysseus touched down on lunar soil Thursday evening.
In a joint effort spearheaded by Intuitive Machines, NASA and SpaceX, Intuitive Machines Chief Technology Tim Crain announced that Odysseus touched ground after an extremely long journey, The New York Times reported.
“Odysseus has a new home”!!! Congrats to @Int_Machines for soft landing on the moon!!! Hope all systems check out ok and we get some amazing images soon!!!
— Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) February 22, 2024
Last week on February 15, Odysseus was launched into orbit on “a trajectory toward the moon” via the SpaceX Rocket 9, the Times detailed. (RELATED: Musk’s SpaceX Has Deep Ties With US Intelligence Agencies — And They’re Only Getting Deeper)
In the moments leading up to the projected time of the landing, glitches in communications garnered widespread worries that the Odysseus had crashed.
Despite these concerns, Crain assured the world that the spacecraft was “definitely on the moon and operating,” the Times reported.
That said, it remains unclear “whether the mission can achieve its objectives,” which includes capturing updated images of Earth’s one and only moon.
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