Intuitive Machines' Odysseus probe lands on Moon, heralding new era in private space exploration

"Without a shadow of a doubt, we can confirm that our equipment is currently on the surface of the Moon and is transmitting signals back to Earth," the manager of Intuitive Machines announced from their headquarters in Houston.

The accomplishment of Intuitive Machines marks it as the first private company to have successfully delivered a spacecraft to the lunar surface. This historic achievement signifies a breakthrough in the field of private space exploration.

This is also a consequential day for NASA and the wider American community involved in aviation and astronautics. As highlighted by the BBC, there has not been a successful mission to the Moon in over fifty years.

According to the information provided by Intuitive Machines, the Odysseus probe established its initial, albeit rather weak, connection with the Moon at 11:23 PM GMT. The signal notably enhanced following a period of approximately ten minutes.

It is noteworthy that the previous American space vehicle to land on the Moon did so in December 1972. The US then deployed NASA's Apollo 17 lander to the lunar surface. It was the concluding mission of the Apollo program and, concurrently, the sixth manned mission to the Moon.