Odysseus probefrom the American company Intuitive machinesHe sent his first photos from the furthest point south Which I actually landed in moonThis is according to what the private company published in social network This Monday (26).

From the two pictures subscriberone of them shows the moment the unit descends in coordination Hexagonal The other, taken 35 seconds after it fell, reveal Malapert A regolith.

The unmanned spacecraft, which is more than four meters long, landed at 11:23 pm GMT on Thursday (22), becoming the first private company to land on the moon and marking the United States' return to Earth's natural satellite after more. From 50 years.

But a series of setbacks, including a failure in the navigation system, complicated the final landing and the probe ended up on its side instead of landing vertically.

“Odysseus continues to communicate from the lunar surface with Nova Control flight controllers,” Intuitive Machines said Monday.

The spacecraft carries scientific instruments from NASA, which seeks to explore the south pole of the moon before sending astronauts on the symbolic Artemis mission.

The US Space Agency has begun allocating this service to private companies, a strategy aimed at allowing more frequent travel at a lower cost, in addition to promoting the development of a lunar economy capable of maintaining a permanent human presence on the Moon, which is one of the goals of the Artemis program.

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell told AFP that although “there are certainly things to work out for future missions”, NASA's project is moving in the right direction. The space missions expert commented that it was a “success with small drawbacks.”

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