The United States went back to the Moon after more than 50 years. At 6:24 pm EST, the robotic Odysseus landed by itself on the Moon. Then, there was a tense 13-minute wait as they connected with mission control using radio.
Today’s landing was the first time the US landed on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. It’s also the first time a privately owned spacecraft has ever landed on the Moon.
It was a little scary. After the recent Peregrine mission failed and burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere, there was a lot of worry in Mission Control. The Nova-C class lander Odysseus, nicknamed “Odie,” landed autonomously about 300 km (190 miles) from the Moon’s south pole.
Later, at 6:37 pm EST, Intuitive Systems, the company that made Odysseus, said they had made contact with the lander at its landing spot in the crater Malapert A.
A spokesperson from Intuitive Machines said, “Odysseus has landed safely.”
