The moon’s newest arrival was said to be “alive and well” a day after making the first US landing in half a century, but flight controllers were still trying to get a better handle on its bearings.
Intuitive Machines has reported that it’s communicating with its lander, Odysseus, and sending commands to acquire science data. But it noted: “We continue to learn more about the vehicle’s specific information” regarding location, overall health and positioning.
The Houston company was shooting for the south polar region, near the Malapert A crater, closer to the pole than anyone else so Nasa could scout out the area before astronauts show up later this decade.
![The Odysseus lunar lander over the near side of the moon after lunar orbit insertion on Thursday. Photo / AP](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/TFLLYBFE3ZB2RNASOU3P4YG2BA.jpg?auth=b52f39ca99c35106343e3e53ff976808d8f90cdedffce036f9bbfc2901019a16&width=16&height=13&quality=70&smart=true)
With Friday’s touchdown, Intuitive Machines became the first private business to pull off a moon landing, a feat previously achieved by only five countries. The mission was sponsored in large part by Nasa, which has experiments on board. Nasa paid $SU118 million ($190.5m) for the delivery under a programme meant to jump-start the lunar economy.