USA Returns to the Surface of the Moon

After a break of fifty-two years, the United States has made a historic return to the lunar surface. On February 22, 2024, a private American aerospace company named Intuitive Machines successfully landed its spacecraft, Odysseus, on the Moon. It is the first time that a private company has achieved such a feat. 

Odysseus landed near the moon’s south pole at the planned site named Crater Malapert A. The mission aims to explore the Moon and its environment. Also, it will study the presence of frozen water on the Moon. 

The successful landing of Odysseus is particularly noteworthy, as it is the first time any US-built spacecraft has landed on the Moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has lauded this achievement as “a giant leap forward.”  

Intuitive Machines has already announced two upcoming space missions that will take place later this year. In the ongoing space race, five countries have successfully landed on the Moon’s surface: the USA, USSR, China, India, and Japan.