NASA’s ambitions of returning to the Moon leaned heavily on startup Intuitive Machines successfully delivering a commercial robotic lander to Earth’s natural satellite. While the IM-1 mission overcame multiple mid-flight glitches in the last leg, first images from the lunar surface revealed an off-kilter landing.

Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C “Odysseus” spacecraft touched down on February 12th. But photos sent back days later showed one of its extended legs damaged with the lander body tilted awkwardly sideways. Still, the company and NASA corroborated during a briefing that the pioneering mission accomplished its core objective.

All six science payloads aboard Nova-C, including three orbiters and three surface experiments, have powered up and initiated transmission back to Earth. This marks the first fully private Moon landing, validating NASA’s model of hiring commercial partners for sustainable lunar exploration versus in-house spacecraft development.

Achieving the feat involved mitigating over 11 failures that nearly terminated the mission enroute. Challenges emerged across systems navigation, targeting sensors, engines and communication links. But resilience engineering tactics by Intuitive Machines' crew pulled the spacecraft back each time. The mission also upgraded the startup’s lunar lander design skills crucially for more ambitious NASA assignments already being planned.

While the oddly resting Odysseus lander attempts battery recharging in lunar daytime, it remains incommunicado after initial check-ins. Pending reestablished contact, Intuitive Machines aims to build on lessons learned for its next-gen landers and orbiting lunar relay satellites enabling sustainable Moon presence this decade. The success, though partial, spotlights how intelligent risk-taking and space-tech entrepreneurship can expand humanity’s extraplanetary footprint.