Odysseus becomes first US lander to touch down on moon in over 50 years

The US-made Odysseus lunar lander has made a touchdown on the moon, surpassing its final key milestones - and the odds - to become the first commercial spacecraft to accomplish such a feat, but the condition of the lander remains in question, Report informs, citing CNN.

Intuitive Machines, however, says the mission has been successful.

"I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface, and we are transmitting," Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus just announced on the webcast. "Welcome to the moon."

Odysseus is the first vehicle launched from the United States to land on the moon’s surface since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Mission controllers from Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that developed the robotic explorer, confirmed the lander reached the lunar surface Thursday evening.

The uncrewed spacecraft traveled hundreds of thousands of miles from its Florida launch site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to the moon before making its final, perilous swoop to the lunar surface.