Private US moon spacecraft tips onto its side and is likely 'leaning against a rock'
A private US spacecraft which landed on the moon has fallen onto its side and is likely now leaning against a rock, company officials said.
Intuitive Machines initially believed Odysseus had landed upright after touching down on Thursday, however CEO Steve Altemus later confirmed the craft had come in too fast and may have snapped a leg after it "caught a foot in the surface".
The south pole landing was the first US touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years, but on Friday, Mr Altemus said communications with the lunar lander were being hampered due to some antenna pointing towards the surface.
Odysseus is otherwise thought to be in good condition and within a few miles of its intended landing site near the Malapert A crater, less than 200 miles from the south pole.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will attempt to pinpoint the lander's location, as it flies overhead this weekend.
The mission was sponsored mostly by NASA, whose experiments were on board, as it paid $118 million for the delivery.
Japan scored a lunar landing last month, joining earlier triumphs by Russia, US, China and India, but its lander also ended up on its side.
The US bowed out of the lunar landscape in 1972 after NASA's Apollo program put 12 astronauts on the surface, but plans to return crew landings for 2026 at the earliest through the Artemis programme.
Intuitive Machines’ target was 186 miles shy of the south pole, around 80 degrees latitude and closer to the pole than any other spacecraft has come.
The site is relatively flat, but surrounded by boulders, hills, cliffs and craters that could hold frozen water, a big part of the allure.
The lander was programmed to pick, in real time, the safest spot near the so-called Malapert A crater.
The solar-powered lander was intended to operate for a week, until the long lunar night.
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