A private American spacecraft lands on the moon, the first since 1972

Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lander successfully landed on the moon, marking the first moon landing by a private firm and the first US spacecraft constructed in nearly 50 years.

After a historic and nerve-wracking descent due to a last-minute navigation sensor malfunction, Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lander successfully landed on the moon on Thursday. This was the first moon landing by a private firm and the first spacecraft constructed in the United States in almost 50 years.

Odysseus made a final descent delay of one orbit to activate an experimental NASA navigation sensor and test hastily written software patches to route its data to the lander's flight computer. At 6:23 p.m. EST, on Thursday, the spacecraft landed close to Malapert A, a crater approximately 186 miles from the moon's South Pole.

Though the anticipated signal was not immediately detected, engineers at Intuitive Machines' Houston-based Nova control center estimated it could take up to two minutes or more to reestablish connections upon landing. Eventually, a communications antenna in the UK detected a weak signal, proving that the spacecraft had survived the landing. 

Following last week's successful launch of Odysseus from the Kennedy Space Center, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised Intuitive Machines, SpaceX, and the organization's commercial moon program, stating that they executed a flawless landing, adding that this achievement is a huge leap towards the future of all humanity.