The United States has made the first landing on the Moon in half a century

The Odysseus probe, built by Intuitive Machines, has landed near the south pole of the Moon. This is the first US mission to the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever to be carried out by a wholly private company.

Here's What We Know

The six-legged robot landed as planned in a crater called Malapert near the lunar south pole. This happened a day after the spacecraft entered lunar orbit and a week after the launch from Florida.

It took several minutes to re-establish communication, and the initial signal was too weak, which led to a long time to determine the exact status and position of the lander.

The probe contains scientific instruments and is prepared to collect data on the interaction of space weather with the lunar surface.

Flashback

To date, only four countries have conducted space missions to the Moon - the USSR, China, India and, as recently as last month, Japan. The United States is the only one to have ever sent humans to the surface of the Earth's satellite.

Source: AP