A private U.S. lunar lander tilted over at touchdown and ended up on its side near the moon’s south pole, hampering communications, company officials said Friday.
Intuitive Machines, the company that built the six-footed lander, initially said it was upright. But CEO Steve Altemus said Friday that the lander “caught a foot in the surface and tipped” and landed on its side, likely leaning on a rock.
“So far, we have quite a bit of operational capability even though we’re tipped over,” he said.
But some antennas were pointed toward the surface, limiting flight controllers ability to communicate and get the right data down,
