US Lands On Moon In Historic Feat For Private Spacecraft

(Bloomberg) -- A lander from a Houston-based startup touched down on the moon on Thursday, making it the first private spacecraft to land on the lunar surface intact. 

The Intuitive Machines Inc. lander, nicknamed Odysseus, reached the moon at 6:23 p.m. US East Coast time on Thursday. After a brief communications blackout, flight controllers acquired a signal and confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data. It was the first time a US-made spacecraft has made it there in one piece since 1972, when NASA was carrying out the Apollo program. 

The success ends a string of failures by private groups looking to land on the moon and bodes well for Intuitive’s aim of creating a business ferrying payloads and experiments there. It’s hoped the landing will provide an up-close look at the moon’s south pole region and offer NASA new information as it aims to return humans to the lunar surface.

“Today for the first time in more than a half century, the US has returned to the moon,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a webcast. “Today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA’s commercial partnerships.”

Three other private-sector entities have unsuccessfully attempted to softly place landers on the moon since 2019. In January, a company called Astrobotic had to forgo the landing of its vehicle after an engine mishap in space crippled its chances.

Intuitive Machines also overcame difficulties throughout its mission. Prior to landing, lasers on Odysseus designed to navigate the moon’s terrain weren’t working properly, so Intuitive Machines had to switch to a NASA lidar instrument. The company sent the lander on an extra lap around the moon to upload a software patch to boost the lidar’s capability. 

“I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface and we are transmitting. Welcome to the moon,” Steve Altemus, Intuitive Machine’s chief executive officer, said in the webcast.

Intuitive Machine’s stock leapt on word of the landing, rising 39% after the close of regular trading to $11.50 as of 7:05 p.m. in New York. The shares have more than doubled so far this year, as of Thursday’s close, valuing the company at about $800 million. 

The startup and Astrobotic were both partially backed by NASA, which is seeking to further explore the moon as part of its Artemis program. The US space agency’s goal is develop a sustainable presence on and around the moon, to learn how to live off of other worlds.

Intuitive Machines holds contracts with NASA to deliver two additional landers to the moon’s surface in the coming years. NASA paid a little less than $118 million to Intuitive Machines for this mission, up from an original contract amount worth $77 million awarded in 2019.

“We learn from the successes and the failures of the past and stand on all those shoulders to try to be successful,” Altemus said in an interview before the landing. “And the key here is to be undeterred.”

The lander launched on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 15 and reached the moon’s orbit six days later. On this trip, the company is carrying six payloads for NASA and five from commercial customers, including sculptures from artist Jeff Koons.

--With assistance from Chester Dawson.

(Adds in second paragraph that lander is upright and sending data.)

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