'Welcome to the moon': Odysseus becomes 1st American lander to reach the moon in 52 years

For the first time in more than five decades, Americans have returned to the moon.

Well, American robots, at least.

A week after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket, the uncrewed Odysseus spacecraft gently touched down on the surface of the moon Thursday, ushering in a historic moon landing.

The lander – designed and operated by Houston-based Intuitive Machines – is now the first commercial spacecraft to ever land on the moon. The lunar landing is also the first by an American-built spacecraft since NASA's final Apollo mission in 1972.

"Houston, Odysseus has found its new home," Stephen Altemus, president and CEO of Intuitive Machines, said shortly after the landing at 5:23 p.m. CST.

The announcement of the landing came about 10 minutes after it happened following some communications challenges. Tension built as the team behind the IM-1 mission waited for confirmation with bated breath.

"I know this was a nail-biter but we are on the surface and we are transmitting," Altemus said. "Welcome to the moon."

What is the Odysseus lunar lander?

Nicknamed for the Greek hero of Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey," the Odysseus lander hitched a ride to orbit last Thursday aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Intuitive Machines built the Odysseus to carry cargo for NASA and other private customers to the lunar surface for its IM-1 mission. Formally called a Nova-C, the lander is a 14-foot-tall hexagonal cylinder with six legs that the space company has operated from a mission control center in Houston.

A failed lunar lander attempt

Odysseus may be the first privately built spacecraft to reach the moon, but it's hardly the first to try.

In January, Pittsburgh-based aerospace company Astrobotic sent its Peregrine lander on a doomed mission to the moon that ended with the spacecraft burning up in Earth's atmosphere days later.

Shortly after the craft separated from the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket, Peregrine's propulsion began leaking a critical amount of propellant that forced Astrobotic to abandon plans of landing on the moon.

Intuitive Machines lander's journey to the moon

Intuitive Machines encountered hiccups along the way – including temporary communication delays – but none so detrimental that it could threaten the mission.

After separating from the SpaceX rocket last week, it took the lander 48 minutes to reach its orbit before it established communication with ground control in Houston, Intuitive Machines said. An engine firing Friday helped position the lander toward the moon and allowed flight controllers to determine that the engine burn and throttle systems needed to land were functioning as intended.

The successful tests set the Odysseus craft up to enter lunar orbit Wednesday ahead of its landing Thursday near the moon's south polar region. Scientists have long been interested in studying the south pole because of the water ice thought to be abundant within its craters.

Intuitive Machines is working with NASA

Intuitive Machines' lunar mission is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, or CLPS.

The U.S. space agency has a budget of $2.6 billion in contracts available through 2028 to pay private companies to place scientific payloads on private robotic landers like Odysseus bound for the lunar surface. The success of Intuitive Machines in putting a lander on the moon will now pave the way for NASA to work with more commercial entities on future space endeavors.

As the primary customer for the Odysseus mission, NASA paid Intuitive Machines $118 million to take its scientific payloads to the moon. The instruments will collect valuable data for NASA as it prepares to send astronauts back to the lunar surface for its Artemis program for the first time since the last Apollo mission 52 years ago.

NASA's Artemis program mission delayed

NASA had intended to launch its Artemis II astronauts into orbit by the end of the year on a 10-day trip circumnavigating the moon ahead of a moon landing itself a year later for Artemis III. But the Artemis program missions have since been delayed by at least a year after NASA encountered a slew of issues, including a battery flaw on the vehicle that will ferry astronauts to the moon.

Once NASA is back on track in the years ahead, the agency intends to send a crew to the moon's south polar region, where it will will lay the groundwork for NASA to establish a permanent human presence on and around the moon ahead of future missions to Mars.

Contributing: Amanda Lee Myers and Mike Snider.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]