Intuitive Machines Lander Arrives at Moon Surface

Intuitive Machines has landed the first privately made spacecraft on the moon.

The Odysseus Nova-C lander is also the first U.S. spacecraft on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. It descended somewhere in the moon’s south polar regions as part of the IM-1 mission, SpaceNews reported Friday.

The lander received a patch that enables it to use a NASA Doppler lidar payload after onboard laser rangefinders were found to be faulty. Prasun Desai, NASA deputy associate administrator for space technology, explained during the landing broadcast that the payload provides velocity and altitude information.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sent Odysseus into orbit on Feb. 15. The lander reached low lunar orbit on Feb. 21. 

Odysseus is carrying six NASA payloads for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program under a $118 million task order. Aside from the Doppler lidar, the payloads include a navigation beacon, a radio frequency fuel tank gauge and a laser retroreflector.