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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...n-18677914.php

Intuitive Machines' Nova-C spacecraft, named Odysseus, passes over the near side of the moon on Feb. 21, 2024.

Intuitive Machines

Houston’s Intuitive Machines makes history as first private company to touch down on the moon

By Andrea Leinfelder,
Staff writer
Feb 22, 2024

A Houston delegate is once again on the moon.

Intuitive Machines’ uncrewed lander made history Thursday as the first privately owned spacecraft to touch down on the lunar surface, though the company was still analyzing the condition of the lander.

The environment was tense at a company watch party in Houston as the landing time passed and employees waited to receive communications from their spacecraft. Then Intuitive Machines Chief Technology Officer Tim Crain made an announcement from mission control: "We can confirm, without a doubt, that our equipment is on the surface of the moon and we are transmitting."

The room leapt to its feet. Employees decked in Intuitive Machines gear congratulated one another and celebrated with their children dressed as astronauts.

After four years of preparations, the company’s 14-foot-tall Nova-C lander navigated to a spot near the moon’s South Pole. It was the 24th mission to softly land on the moon since 1966. And with it comes a new era of exploration.

NASA and its Houston-trained astronauts dominated moonshots of the ‘60s and ‘70s. This time, commercial companies and other countries are sharing more of the action.

"To actually have my hands in this, to be a participant in this, it's a wild experience," said Mario Romero, an Intuitive Machines assembly, integration, and test engineer who brought his wife and 8-week-old son to the company's watch party.