Private Lander Touches Down on Moon, Sends Weak Signal
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — A private U.S. lunar lander touched down on the moon Thursday, but contact with the craft was weak, company officials said. There were no immediate updates on the lander's condition from the company, Intuitive Machines. Tension mounted in the company's command center in Houston, as controllers awaited a signal from the spacecraft some 400,000 kilometers away. It arrived about 10 minutes later. "We're evaluating how we can refine that signal," said mission director Tim Crain. "But we can confirm, without a doubt, that our equipment is on the surface of the moon." The lander, Odysseus, descended from a moon-skimming orbit and guided itself toward the surface, searching for a relatively flat spot among all the cliffs and craters near the south pole. The lander's choreographed descent was…