More so than any previous craft, it has touched down near the south pole of the moon.
The lander from Intuitive Machines is also the first American lander to land on the moon successfully in over 50 years, since the final Apollo program mission in 1972.
After a few anxious minutes, the Houston control room erupted in cheers and joy when the landing was certified successful.
After descending from a moon-skimming orbit, the 14-foot-tall, 6-footed carbon fiber and titanium lander navigated itself to the surface, looking for a comparatively flat area among the craters and cliffs to land close to the south pole.
