For the first time in more than 50 years, a U.S. mission landed on the moon, delivering NASA research equipment that will inform future lunar exploration.
The Odysseus lander, built by the private sector company Intuitive Machines, touched down on the moon at 6:23 p.m. EST February 22.
The NASA-supported mission is the first U.S. lunar landing since the famed Apollo missions that landed the first man on the moon July 20, 1969. NASA’s Artemis program works with the private sector and partner nations to return astronauts to the moon and explore Mars.
“Odysseus has a new home” https://t.co/oVgLobxH8T
— Intuitive Machines (@Int_Machines) February 22, 2024
Odysseus launched February 15 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center onboard a SpaceX rocket. The lander carries equipment for six NASA experiments that will inform future Artemis missions.
Intuitive Machines built the Odysseus lander as part of a NASA-supported partnership with the private sector to boost exploration of the moon, the Associated Press reports.
“America has returned to the Moon,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson posted on X. “What a feat for IM, @SpaceX & @NASA. What a triumph for humanity.”
