Privately-Owned Odysseus Is The First US Spacecraft To Land On The Moon In 50 Years

Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lunar lander on display at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
(Credit: NASA/ Public Domain)

A week after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket, the uncrewed Odysseus spacecraft gently landed near the Moon's south pole at 6:32 pm ET on February 22, 2024. The 14-foot-tall (4.3 meters) lander was developed and flown by Texas-based Intuitive Machines. It is the first privately-built spacecraft to make a moon landing. More significantly, Odysseus is the first American lander to successfully touch down on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Privately-Owned Odysseus Is The First US Spacecraft To Land On The Moon In 50 Years

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