Intuitive Machines successfully lands on the Moon

Closing summary

The US returned to the moon for the first time in more than half a century, when the privately-built spacecraft called Odysseus touched down today.

Confirmation of the landing came about 10 minutes after touchdown, as flight controllers scrambled to pick up communications. “I know this was a nail-biter but we are on the surface and we are transmitting,” said Stephen Altemus, president and CEO of Intuitive Machines, the Texas-based company that designed and operated the lander. “Welcome to the moon.”

Here’s a recap of the Odysseus lander’s long journey:

• Last week SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted off in the middle of the US night from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center, dispatching Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander on its 230,000 miles (370,000km) journey.

• The lander, a 14ft (4.3 meter) hexagon-shaped craft with six legs, was aimed towards a landing at crater Malapert A, close to the lunar south pole. Odysseus is carrying a payload of six Nasa science instruments and technology demonstrations as part of the agency’s commercial lunar payload services initiative. It’s also carrying some other stuff – including 125 of Jeff Koons’ miniature moon sculptures.

• From the moon’s orbit, the lander used autonomous systems to determine the best spot to land, slowing itself down as it propelled toward the surface.

• There were some unexpected glitches along the way –instead of using the primary navigation sensors as planned, the lander used a Lidar instrument provided by Nasa to guide its descent. The landing was delayed so that flight controllers could patch software.

• There’s still a lot we don’t know about the circumstances of Odysseus’s landing. Flight controllers will work to analyze communications and learn more about the descent, and whether the Odysseus will be able to carry on and complete its lunar missions.

  – Guardian staff

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My colleague Richard Luscombe has more details here about Odysseus’s long journey:

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The White House Office of Science and Technology has sent its congratulations:

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Here again, is the moment the flight controllers confirmed landing.

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More images are emerging of the control room staff in Torrance, California, as they anxiously monitored – and eventually celebrated – the Odysseus spacecraft’s journey from orbit to landing.

This frame grab from Nasa shows Scorpius Space Launch Company (SSLC) team members watching as the Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lunar lander approached the moon. Photograph: NASA/AFP/Getty ImagesScorpius Space Launch Company (SSLC) team members reacting as the Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lunar lander touches down. Photograph: NASA/AFP/Getty ImagesControl room personnel celebrating after hearing that its private spacecraft named Odysseus has successfully landed. Photograph: APEmail link

Employees of Scorpius Space Launch Company (SSLC) and their families and guests watching the landing from Torrance, California cheered as they heard news of the touchdown.

The lander used SSLC’s next-generation fuel tanks for the lunar mission.

This is a frame grab from Nasa, shows Scorpius Space Launch Company (SSLC) employees and guests reacting in Torrance, California. Photograph: NASA/AFP/Getty ImagesEmail link

Nasa and Intuitive Machines celebrate moon landing

Still, Nasa and Intuitive Machines will be celebrating the achievement.

Odysseus is the first American spacecraft to accomplish such a feat since 1972.

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The flight controllers aren’t done yet, of course. They’ll still work to glean more information, and confirm the circumstances of Odysseus’s landing, its current state, and whether it can achieve its objectives.

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'Odysseus has taken the moon,' says Nasa

“What a triumph,” said Bill Nelson, Nasa’s administrator in a message following the landing.

“Odysseus has taken the moon. This feat is a giant leap forward for all of humanity.”

Today for the first time in more than a half century, the US has returned to the moon. Today for the first time in the history of humanity, a commercial company, an American company launched and led the voyage up there. And today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA’s Commercial partnerships. Congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring quest at Intuitive Machines, SpaceX and right here at Nasa.

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Flight controllers are still working on getting more information.

Nonetheless, it seems like Odysseus is the first American-built mission to land on the moon in more than a half century.

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The Odysseus is on the moon...

“We are on the surface,” said Stephen Altemus, president and CEO of Intuitive Machines. “Welcome to the moon. Odysseus has a new home.”

Note: a previous version of this post incorrectly attributed the quote to mission director Tim Craine.

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It is possible that the Odysseus has crashed… or that there’s a communication issue. Flight controllers are still trying to figure it out.

“We’re not dead yet,” was the call out from mission control.

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We’re still standing by for confirmation. Controllers are going through the latest data that they’ve gotten from the lander. There’s possibly a communications glitch.

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We’ve reached the expected time of landing… but waiting for confirmation.

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The “hazard disturbance avoidance” process has begun. The lander is 1000m away from the surface.

The lander is making autonomous decisions about where to land. We’re less than a minute away.

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Odysseus lander close to touchdown

The mission director just called out three minutes till touchdown.

There will likely be a slight delay between when the lander makes contact with the surface, and when we will get confirmation. That delay could be as little as 15 seconds or several minutes.

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A reminder that there’s no human decisions being made about where to land. The autonomous system on the lander is scanning the surface for the best place to drop down.

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The lander is feeding data to the scientists in the control room.

Everything seems on track so far, as the lander continues slowing itself down so that it can prepare for a vertical descent.

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