Odysseus Lunar Lander May ‘Tipped,’ Lays on Its Side

The lunar lander, which is the first private spacecraft to land on the moon, is stable, but it is likely lying on its side, and its head resting against a rock.

Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Odysseus lander, landed on the Moon’s south pole region on Thursday.

Steve Altemus, the chief executive and co-founder of Intuitive Machines, told a press conference the lander may have “tipped” but it is still working.

Altemus said: “It’s pretty incredible, it was quite a spicy seven-day mission to get to the Moon.

“So just to begin with, the vehicle is stable, near or at our intended landing site. We do have communications with the lander.”

He said they were using the Goonhilly Earth Station satellite in Cornwall to download data, hoping to have surface photos soon.

He added the lander is in a good position, and it is in the South Pole region.

He said: “We have the sun impinging on the solar arrays and charging our batteries,” adding: “We are providing power to the spacecraft and we’re at 100% state of charge. That’s fantastic.”

The touchdown of the lander was the first US landing on the Moon since the final mission of the Apollo program, more than 50 years ago.