The IM-1 lander “Odysseus” in lunar orbit on Feb. 21, 2024.
Intuitive Machines
A U.S. company has gone to the moon – and into the history books.
Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission reached the moon’s surface on Thursday evening, in the first American lunar landing since the Apollo era.
The company’s Nova-C cargo lander, named “Odysseus” after the mythological Greek hero, is the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the lunar surface since 1972. Adding to the feat, Intuitive Machines is the first company to pull off a moon landing — government agencies have carried out all previously successful missions.
“We are on the surface and we are transmitting. Welcome to the moon,” Intuitive Machines’ CEO Steve Altemus said from mission control.
There was a delay, as expected, between the landing and when engineers were able to assess its success.
A few minutes after the expected landing time, Intuitive Machines’ mission control was still trying to reconnect communications with the spacecraft to confirm whether it landed. The company’s mission control ultimately picked up a signal and announced its lander was on the surface.
“What we can confirm, without a doubt, is that our equipment is on the surface of the moon and we are transmitting. So congratulations, IM-1,” Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines’ CTO and IM-1 mission director, said.
“Odysseus has found his new home,” Crain added.
Two hours after the landing, Intuitive Machines said in a statement that “flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data.”
The company’s stock surged in extended trading Thursday, after falling 11% in regular trading to close at $8.28 a share.
Intuitive Machines, a Houston, Texas-based company founded in 2013, went public a year ago. After shares hit an all-time low in early January, the stock has surged and more than tripled – a rally that Wall Street analysts describe as fueled by investor excitement around the IM-1 mission’s progress.
Odysseus’ journey
The lander began a series…
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