Odysseus passes over the near side of the moon after entering into lunar orbit on Wednesday. The spacecraft successfully landed on the moon Thursday evening Eastern time.

An American Spacecraft Successfully Lands on the Moon for the First Time Since 1972

After a tense touchdown process with last-minute changes, U.S.-based company Intuitive Machines received a signal from its uncrewed Odysseus lunar lander on Thursday evening

The full moon, as seen from Granada, Spain. A new study suggests the moon is shrinking, causing moonquakes that could interfere with planned lunar missions.

The Moon Is Shrinking, Causing Moonquakes at a Potential NASA Landing Site, Study Finds

Though the risk to astronauts is low, the shaking could cause landslides and impact potential long-term settlements at the lunar south pole

A photo from a camera on one of Peregrine's payload decks shows some of the spacecraft's payloads, as well as a sliver of Earth in the upper right.

Doomed Lunar Lander Will Burn Up in Earth's Atmosphere on Thursday

Astrobotic, the company in charge of the mission, says its Peregrine spacecraft will not reach the moon, and burning it will ensure the lander doesn't end up as space debris

The United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 8, carrying Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander.

American Moon Mission Suffers Fuel Leak, Has 'No Chance' of a Soft Landing

Launched early Monday, the Peregrine spacecraft started losing propellant almost immediately, and the mission, which is carrying NASA scientific instruments, has been derailed

People in New Delhi celebrate India's successful landing of a spacecraft near the moon's south pole on Wednesday.

India Lands a Spacecraft Near the Moon's South Pole, a First in Lunar Exploration

No other mission has successfully touched down in this scientifically interesting moon region, which contains water ice in lunar craters