A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines lands near the south pole of the moon on Thursday, February 23.
Full story: https://www.rappler.com/science/earth-space/united-states-moon-landing-private-spacecraft-odysseus-2024/
Full story: https://www.rappler.com/science/earth-space/united-states-moon-landing-private-spacecraft-odysseus-2024/
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00:00 A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines lands near the
00:06 South Pole of the Moon.
00:07 It is the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the
00:12 first ever achieved by the private sector.
00:14 The uncrewed six-legged robot lander, dubbed Odysseus, touched down at about 6.23 p.m.
00:20 Eastern Standard Time.
00:22 The landing caps a nail-biting final approach and descent that required engineers on the
00:26 ground to employ an untested workaround at the 11th hour.
00:31 NASA Administrator Bill Nelson hails the feat as a triumph, saying "Odysseus has taken the
00:36 Moon."
00:37 Odysseus is carrying a suite of scientific instruments and technology demonstrations
00:42 for NASA and several commercial customers.
00:44 Thursday's landing represents the first controlled descent to the Moon by a U.S. spacecraft since
00:49 Apollo 17 in 1972.
00:52 (gentle music)