In a historic achievement, the Intuitive Machines’ private lunar probe, Nova-C or the Odysseus lander, successfully landed on the Moon. This marks the first controlled U.S. landing on the lunar surface since the Apollo mission in 1972 and the inaugural success for a private company.
The Odysseus lander, capturing images of the lunar surface, will operate for an additional 7 days, focusing on collecting crucial data on space weather, lunar surface interactions, and more. The craft carries NASA research instruments and cargo, including a digital human knowledge archive and mini Moon sculptures by artist Jeff Koons.
This milestone, backed by NASA’s $118 million investment, aims to deepen our understanding of the Moon’s environment, paving the way for future astronaut missions.
Note: This article utilizes information, images from NASA, AP.
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