US-made Odysseus lunar lander (IM-1 lander) soft-landed on moon

The US-made Odysseus lunar lander (IM-1 lander) has soft-landed on the moon, surpassing the odds to become the first commercial spacecraft to land near the lunar south pole.

Mission controllers from Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that developed the robotic explorer, confirmed that the lander reached the lunar surface Thursday evening and contact has been made with the spacecraft.

Intuitive Machines says the mission has been successful. Odysseus is the first vehicle launched from the United States to land on the moon’s surface since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Intuitive Machines is aiming to land Odysseus near Malapert A, an impact crater close to the moon’s south pole – an area characterized by treacherous and rocky terrain.