US spacecraft successfully lands on the moon. Now what?

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – A private company’s spacecraft successfully landed on the moon Thursday night.

It’s the first time in more than 50 years that the U.S. has touched down on the moon and the first time a spacecraft built by a private company has accomplished such a feat.

Odysseus, an unmanned moon lander designed by Intuitive Machines, traveled to the moon carrying scientific instruments for NASA with the goal of paving the way for future exploration.

Intuitive Machines confirmed the successful landing, and that the spacecraft was sending data back to Earth.

So, what happens now that the spacecraft has landed?

“Because it is all autonomous it allows us to have a better risk posture to really test technologies of today, instead of using technologies that were tested decades ago in space,” Dr. Sue Lederer, NASA Planetary Scientist said.

NASA said Odysseus, nicknamed Ody, is going to “his forever home,” meaning the spacecraft will remain on the surface of the moon indefinitely.

“We will operate for the next week, maybe a week and a couple of days, get a lot of data, better understanding, and then Ody will go to sleep and be at that particular place forever,” Dr. Lederer said.

Odysseus will help NASA in the future because one of the instruments will provide a specific location marker for where it has landed, which will assist with future moon landings.

NASA’s target date to send astronauts to the moon is September 2026.