First commercial spaceship lands on the moon, making history for a private American enterprise

In addition to prior achievements by India, Russia, the US, and China, a private American corporation has written history by landing the first commercial spacecraft on the moon and the first US vehicle on the planet’s only natural satellite in more than 50 years.

The lander, known as Odysseus and constructed by intuitive machines, landed on the moon on Thursday at around 6:23 p.m. ET, becoming the first American spacecraft to do so since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

After Houston-based business Intuitive Machines successfully landed its Odysseus robot close to the lunar south pole, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “Today, for the first time in half a century, America has returned to the moon.”

“And bearing the dream of a new adventure in science, innovation, and American leadership in space, well, all of that aced the landing of the lifetime,” Nelson said, referring to the lander’s cargo of several NASA scientific equipment.

There were some tense moments before the moon landing, but Flight Director and Chief Technology Officer Tim Crain declared, “What we can confirm, without a doubt, is our equipment is on the surface of the moon, and we are transmitting,” to cheers from his colleagues and others across the nation.

As predicted, mission controllers lost touch with the spacecraft during its final fall, according to NBC News.

“Flight controllers have confirmed that Odysseus is upright and has begun to send data after troubleshooting communications.” As we speak, Intuitive Machines is in the process of downlinking the first photographs from the lunar surface. This is a historic achievement.

“I understand that this was tense, but we are broadcasting from the surface. Stephen Altemus, the CEO of Intuitive Machines, welcomed viewers to the moon during the live broadcast.

According to ABC News, the lander has seven days left until darkness falls on the landing site, blocking the spacecraft’s solar panels from absorbing sunlight and bringing on below-freezing temperatures.

India created history in August of last year when its lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 became the first to land in the unexplored south pole of the planet’s sole natural satellite and the fourth to acquire the skill of soft-landing on the moon, elevating India into an exclusive club of countries.