Private American company lands spacecraft on moon, but sending weak signal

on Thursday made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years, but managed just a weak signal back as flight controllers scrambled to gain better contact.

Mission director Tim Crain said the team was evaluating how to refine the lone signal from the lander, named Odysseus, which delivered experiments to the moon for NASA.This image provided by Intuitive Machines shows its Odysseus lunar lander with the Earth in the background on Feb. 16, 2024. The image was captured shortly after separation from SpaceX's second stage on Intuitive Machines' first journey to the moon.

Intuitive Machines also became the first private business to pull off a lunar landing, a feat achieved by only five countries. Another U.S. company, Astrobotic Technology, Astrobotic was among the first to relay congratulations. “An incredible achievement. We can’t wait to join you on the lunar surface in the near future,” the company said via X, formerly Twitter.

With this change finally in place, Odysseus descended from a moon-skimming orbit and guided itself toward the surface, searching for a relatively flat spot among all the cliffs and craters near the south pole.

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Private American company lands spacecraft on moon, but sending weak signalA private U.S. lunar lander touched down on the moon Thursday, but contact with the craft was weak, company officials said.
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