US spacecraft nearing first private lunar landing

What happened?

Odysseus, a lunar lander built by Intuitive Machines, is orbiting the moon, aiming to be the first private spacecraft to successfully land on the lunar surface. If touchdown is successful Thursday evening, it will also be the first U.S. mission to the moon since NASA ended the Apollo program in 1972.

Who said what?

Odysseus "continues to be in excellent health in lunar orbit," Houston's Intuitive Machines said Wednesday night.

The commentary

"The moon is littered with wreckage from failed landings," and Odysseus has already made it farther than most, The Associated Press said. Fellow U.S. company Astrobotic's lander crashed back to Earth last month after a fuel leak cut its mission short. Unlike the Apollo program, which landed astronauts near the moon's equator, Odysseus is aiming for an area of the lunar south pole being considered for NASA's crewed Artemis mission, The Washington Post said. 

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What next?

If Odysseus lands safely, "its mission will last only about seven days until the sun sets" and its solar panels stop providing power, The New York Times said. Odysseus was not designed to survive the two-week "frigid lunar night" that follows.