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| AP |
A private company's spacecraft landed on the Moon's surface on Thursday, but the spacecraft's signal was weak, prompting flight controllers to make efforts to establish better contact with the first U.S. probe to reach the lunar surface in over 50 years.
Despite intermittent communication, Intuitive Machines, the company that built and operates the probe, confirmed the landing. However, it did not provide further details, including whether the landing module had reached its intended destination near the Moon's South Pole. The company ended its live broadcast shortly after identifying a single weak signal from the probe.
"We can confirm, without a doubt, that our team is on the lunar surface," mission director Tim Crain reported as tension mounted at the company's control center in Houston.
Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus added, "I know this was tricky, but we are on the surface and we are transmitting. Welcome to the Moon."
Data finally began to arrive, as announced by the company two hours after the landing.
The landing marked the United States' return to the lunar surface for the first time since NASA's famous Apollo missions.
Intuitive Machines also became the first private operation to achieve a lunar landing, something only five nations have accomplished. Another U.S. company, Astrobotic Technology, attempted last month but did not reach the Moon, and the probe crashed back to Earth.
Both companies are part of a NASA-supported program to boost the lunar economy.
Astrobotic was one of the first to offer congratulations. "An incredible achievement. We look forward to joining you on the lunar surface in the near future," the company stated via X.
Intuitive Machines "has pulled off the landing of their life," tweeted NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
The hours leading up to the landing were tense as the landing module's laser navigation system failed. The company's flight control team had to activate an experimental NASA laser system, and the probe made an additional orbit around the Moon to make the last-minute switch.
After this adjustment, Odysseus descended from a low lunar orbit and headed for the surface, searching for a relatively flat spot among the rocks and craters near the Moon's South Pole.
As the scheduled landing time approached, controllers at the company's Houston mission control anxiously awaited a signal from the spacecraft about 400,000 kilometers away. After almost 15 minutes, the company announced that it had received a weak signal from the probe.
Intuitive Machines' attempt is the latest in a series of lunar landing efforts by countries and private companies aiming to explore the Moon and, if possible, exploit its resources. Japan achieved a lunar landing last month, joining previous successes by Russia, the United States, China, and India.
The United States withdrew from the lunar scene in 1972 after the Apollo program put 12 astronauts on the surface. Astrobotic, based in Pittsburgh, attempted last month, but a fuel leak caused the probe to plunge through Earth's atmosphere and burn up.
The solar-powered probe was expected to operate for about a week until the extended lunar night.