For many years, successfully landing a spacecraft on the moon has been a combination of successes and failures.

A private American company has successfully achieved a safe landing on the moon, making them the first non-government entity to do so. This feat has only been accomplished by five countries.

Intuitive Machines successfully landed a lander on the moon on Thursday as part of a NASA-funded project. However, the lander ended up tilted on its side and had limited communication capabilities, according to company representatives on Friday.

In 1972, NASA astronauts ended the Apollo program and the recent accomplishment has now brought the U.S. back to the moon.

Numerous attempts to land on the moon have resulted in wreckage scattered across its surface. In a recent attempt, American company Astrobotic Technology encountered a fuel leak and was forced to abandon their mission to send a lander to the moon. The damaged lander ultimately burned up upon reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

These two American companies are involved in NASA’s initiative to assist in delivering goods to the moon.

An overview of the beneficiaries and casualties on the moon.

FIRST VICTORIES

In 1966, the Soviet Union’s Luna 9 successfully lands on the moon, while previous attempts resulted in crashes or missing the moon entirely. Four months later, the U.S. lands Surveyor 1 on the moon. As the competition to land humans intensifies, both countries continue to make advancements in robotic landings.

APOLLO RULES

In 1969, NASA successfully surpassed the Soviets in the space race by completing a moon landing with Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Over the course of six missions, twelve astronauts were able to explore the moon’s surface before the program concluded with Apollo 17 in 1972. To this day, the United States remains the only country to have sent humans to the moon. The U.S. plans to continue their efforts and aim for a crewed mission to the moon’s surface by 2026, following a lunar fly-around by astronauts in the previous year.

CHINA EMERGES

In 2013, China became the third nation to successfully complete a soft landing on the moon, deploying a rover named Yutu, which means “jade rabbit” in Chinese. In 2019, China followed up with the Yutu-2 rover, achieving another impressive feat by landing on the unexplored far side of the moon. In 2020, a mission on the near side of the moon brought back nearly 4 pounds (1.7 kilograms) of lunar samples. China is currently preparing for another sample return mission, this time targeting the far side of the moon. With ambitions to put astronauts on the moon by 2030, China is seen as NASA’s biggest competitor in lunar exploration.

RUSSIA STUMBLES

In 2023, Russia attempts their first moon landing in almost 50 years, but the Luna 25 spacecraft crashes into the moon. The nation’s previous lander, Luna 24 from 1976, not only successfully landed, but also brought back samples of moon rocks to Earth.

India achieves victory in its second attempt.

In 2019, India’s initial lunar lander crashes into the moon. However, the country bounces back and in 2023, launches Chandrayaan-3 (Hindi for moon craft). This mission is a success and India becomes the fourth nation to achieve a lunar landing. This achievement occurs only four days after Russia’s unsuccessful attempt.

JAPAN LANDS SIDEWAYS

Japan becomes the fifth country to land successfully on the moon, with its spacecraft touching down in January. The craft lands on the wrong side, compromising its ability to generate solar power, but manages to crank out pictures and science before falling silent when the long lunar night sets in.

PRIVATE TRIES

In 2019, an Israeli lander called Beresheet, meaning “in the beginning,” funded by private sources, crashes upon landing on the moon. In 2023, a lunar lander from a Japanese entrepreneur’s company, ispace, also fails during its mission. Similarly, Astrobotic Technology, a company based in Pittsburgh, attempts to launch its lander in January, but a fuel leak causes it to be unable to land and ultimately fails. Both Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines have future plans for delivering items to the moon.

___

The Science and Health Department of the Associated Press is backed by the Science and Educational Media Group of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP holds full responsibility for all material.

Source: wral.com