First Private Spacecraft Landing on Moon

Context

∙ The Odysseus lunar lander, has become the first US-made spacecraft to touch down on the moon in 50 years.

About

∙ Spacecraft Odysseus built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines landed near the south pole of the moon.

∙ It is also the first commercial spacecraft to make a touchdown on the moon.

∙ Odysseus is the first craft launched from the US to land on the moon’s surface since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Significance

∙ The lunar lander is designed to evaluate the environment at the moon’s south pole as NASA prepares to send a crewed mission in 2026 with Artemis III.

∙ The mission is expected to pave the way under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, designed to deliver instruments and hardware to the moon at lower costs.