China News Service, Beijing, February 23 (Houston News): The lunar lander "Odysseus" developed by the American private company "Intuitive Machines" landed on the moon on the 22nd local time.
This is the first time a U.S. spacecraft has landed on the moon since Apollo 17 completed the moon landing mission in 1972, and it is also the first time a private company has completed a lunar landing mission.
"Intuition Machine" announced the news of "Odysseus" landing on the moon that night.
Steve Altemus, president of Intuitive Machines, said that although it was "nervous", Odysseus had successfully landed on the moon and transmitted a signal, "Welcome to the moon."
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), "Odysseus" landed on the moon at 18:23 Eastern Time on the 22nd.
The "Odysseus" lander is a hexagonal cylinder with a height of 4 meters and a width of 1.57 meters. It has 6 landing legs. It carries a variety of NASA scientific instruments and commercial payloads. It weighs about 1,900 kilograms when fully loaded with propellant. .
NASA paid Intuitive Machines $118 million for the mission.
According to NASA's official website, the goals of this mission include studying the interaction between the lander's engine plume and the lunar surface, radio astronomy, the interaction between space weather and the lunar surface, the lander's precise landing technology, and communication and navigation capabilities.
"Odysseus" was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the 15th of this month aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The lunar lander "Peregrine" developed by Aerospace Robotics, another private company in the United States, was launched in January. However, the propulsion system failed shortly after liftoff, and the moon landing plan failed.
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