CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon since the Apollo astronauts fell silent Thursday, a week after breaking a leg at touchdown and tipping over near the lunar south pole.

The lander, Odysseus, from Intuitive Machines performed beyond the company’s expectations despite sustaining damage to its solar power and communication while landing on its side.

The end came as flight controllers received one last photo from Odysseus and commanded its computer and power systems to standby. That way, the lander can wake up in another two to three weeks — if it survives the bitterly cold lunar night. Intuitive Machines spokesman Josh Marshall said these final steps drained the lander’s batteries and put Odysseus “down for a long nap.”

The company, previously known as Twitter, stated via X, “We look forward to hearing from you again, Odie.”

Odysseus sent a final message before losing power, which Intuitive Machines referred to as “a fitting farewell transmission.”

Captured moments before landing, the photo displays the underside of the lander resting on the moon’s uneven terrain, with a minuscule Earth in the shape of a crescent and a petite sun in the distance.

The initial goal for the lander was to endure approximately seven days on the lunar surface.

Houston-based Intuitive Machines became the first private business to land a spacecraft on the moon without crashing when Odysseus touched down Feb. 22. Only five countries had achieved that since the 1960s, including Japan, which made a sideways landing last month.

I carried out six investigations for NASA, who spent $118 million on the journey. The initial corporation to participate in NASA’s initiative for privately funded missions to the moon was unable to successfully land; its spacecraft crashed back to our planet in January.

NASA considers these privately-owned landers as explorers that will lead the way for astronauts expected to arrive in the next few years.

Prior to Odysseus, the most recent American moon landing was carried out by Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of Apollo 17 in 1972.

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The AP’s Health and Science Department is funded by the Science and Educational Media Group of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for its content.

Source: wral.com