A private U.S. lunar lander touched down on the moon Thursday, but contact with the craft was weak, company officials said.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private lander touched down on the moon Thursday but managed just a weak signal back, as flight controllers scrambled to gain better contact with the first U.S. spacecraft to reach the lunar surface in more than 50 years.
Mission director Tim Crain said the team was evaluating how to refine the lone signal from the lander, named Odysseus.This image provided by Intuitive Machines shows its Odysseus lunar lander with the Earth in the background on Feb. 16, 2024. The image was captured shortly after separation from SpaceX's second stage on Intuitive Machines' first journey to the moon.
Intuitive Machines also became the first private business to pull off a lunar landing, a feat achieved by only five countries. Another company gave it a shot last month, but never made it to the moon, and the lander crashed back to Earth. Tension mounted in the company’s Houston command center following the designated touchdown time, as controllers awaited a signal from the spacecraft some 250,000 miles away. After close to 15 minutes, the company announced it had received a weak signal from the lander.
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Private Odysseus moon lander beams home 1st photos from spaceMichael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
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