Moon lander is 'alive and well' on lunar surface

24/2/2024 7:33

        The moon lander dubbed Odysseus is "alive and well" but resting on its side a day after a white-knuckle touchdown as the first private spacecraft ever to
        reach the lunar surface, and the first from the United States since 1972, the company behind the vehicle said on Friday.
        
        The chief executive officer of Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which built and flew the lander, said the vehicle is believed to have caught one of its six landing feet on the lunar surface during its final descent and tipped over, coming to rest propped up sideways on a rock.
        
        Still, CEO Stephen Altemus said Odysseus "is stable near or at our intended landing site" near a crater called Malapert A in the region of the moon's south pole.
        
        "We do have communications with the lander" and sending commands to the vehicle, Altemus said, adding that teams were working to obtain the first photo images from the lunar surface at the landing site.
        
        A brief update on the mission's status posted to the company's website earlier on Friday described Odysseus "alive and well."