A first: US company lands craft on moon

PTI

Washington, February 23

A private American company has scripted history by landing the first commercial spacecraft on the Moon as well as the first US vehicle on the Earth's only natural satellite in more than 50 years, joining earlier feats by India, Russia, the US and China.

Built by Intuitive Machines, the lander — named Odysseus — touched down on the moon at 6.23 pm ET on Thursday, making it the first American spacecraft on the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. “Today, for the first time in half a century, America has returned to the Moon,” Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator said.

The lander will have seven days before darkness descends on the landing site, preventing the spacecraft’s solar panels from gathering energy from sunlight and bringing freezing temperatures, ABC News reported.

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