Odysseus Lunar Lander Completes Mission Despite Setbacks

Odysseus is the name of the first American spacecraft to land on the moon in 52 years. Find out how its mission succeeded despite enduring and overcoming some demanding challenges and setbacks.

I’ve been feeling old over the past couple of weeks. I kept hearing about the first US soft landing on the moon in 52 years.

It doesn’t seem like 50 years since Apollo 17 landed on the moon in December 1972, but figures don’t lie. It’s also hard to believe that NASA has taken so long to land another mission on Earth’s nearest neighbour.

Other countries, including Russia, China, India and Japan have landed uncrewed spacecraft on the moon, and the US has placed satellites in lunar orbit. This new lunar landing is also the first ever by any private business.

Team Called the Lander Odysseus, Ody for Short

The team named the lander Odysseus, nicknamed “Ody” and it was built by the Houston-based commercial firm Intuitive Machines. It’s part of a NASA program called Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) and it’s also part of the Artemis crewed lunar landing program.