Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based company, successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon at 2323 GMT on Thursday, marking the first US private company to achieve this feat in over 50 years.
CEO Steve Altemus confirmed the landing, expressing relief. Mission director Tim Crain reported a weak signal but affirmed the spacecraft's presence and transmission.
The six-legged robotic lander, Odysseus, targeted the Malapert A crater near the moon's south pole. It carries scientific instruments to study space weather, radio astronomy, and lunar environment.
Odysseus launched on February 15 via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, boasting a novel liquid oxygen and liquid methane propulsion system.
This marks the first US-controlled lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972, highlighting a milestone in private space exploration.
Only a handful of countries have achieved lunar landings, with the United States standing as the sole nation to send humans to the moon.