around the moon in 2025 and land there in 2026<\/a>. Those missions are dedicated to establishing a long-term US presence on the moon, with the goal of using that experience to inform later journeys to Mars. <\/p>\nThe moon landing, explained<\/h3>\n
Odysseus, a robotic spacecraft, touched down in the region of the moon\u2019s south pole on Thursday evening following a somewhat rocky descent<\/a>. Intuitive Machines announced then on X that it was working to \u201cdownlink the first images from the lunar surface.\u201d<\/a> Notably, Odysseus is an autonomous spacecraft, which means it was able to land itself on the moon, a challenge<\/a> that has foiled<\/a> numerous past missions<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n