The Odysseus lander has successfully touched down after a “nail-biting” descent saw the first ever privately owned craft reach the moon’s surface.
The Intuitive Machines’ lander is also the first US lander to successfully reach the moon in more than 50 years – since the last of NASA’s Apollo programme in 1972.
There was applause and cheers in the Houston control room as landing success was confirmed after a few tense minutes.
“I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface, and we are transmitting,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said.
“Welcome to the moon.”
Image: This was the scene at Intuitive Machines HQ in Houston after teams heard the spacecraft had reached the moon’s surface
Image: Flight controllers at Intuitive Machines in Houston celebrate the landing Pic: Intuitive Machines via AP
The 14-ft tall, six-footed carbon fibre and titanium lander descended from a moon-skimming orbit and guided itself to the surface, searching for a relatively flat spot among the cliffs and craters to make its landing near the south pole.
Back on Earth, the team had to wait well past the expected touchdown time for confirmation that there was a signal before celebrating.
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New moon mission explained
Odysseus was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, last week.
The last time a US craft made a similar descent was in 1972, when Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt were aboard, and the pair remain the last humans to have walked on the moon.
Image: Intuitive Machine’s IM-1 Nova-C lunar lander. Pic: Intuitive Machine via AP
NASA administrator Bill Nelson called the mission a “triumph” and a “giant leap forward for all of humanity”.
In a televised statement following the successful landing, he said: “Today for the first time in more than half a century the US has returned to the moon.
“For the first time in the history of humanity, an American company launched and led the voyage up there.
“Today is a day that shows the power and promise of NASA’s commercial partnerships.
“Congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring quest at Intuitive Machines, SpaceX and right here at NASA.
“What a triumph – Odysseus has taken the moon. This feat is a giant leap forward for all of humanity. Stay tuned.”
Image: Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander separating from the rocket’s upper stage and heading toward the moon. Pic: SpaceX via AP
NASA is the mission’s main sponsor, paying $118m (£93.5m) to put its experiments on board as part of a programme which could eventually see astronauts return to the moon later in the decade.
The space agency has ambitions to make lunar trips a more regular affair and, eventually, build a base on the moon.
Odysseus is also carrying six other payloads from commercial companies.
It has landed closer to the moon’s south pole than any other craft.
The region has many more craters, cliffs and boulders than the equator, where the Apollo landings were in the 60s and 70s.
Scientists hope to find layers of ice, or perhaps Arctic-style permafrost, from which they can create hydration for astronauts – something which would enable them to stay for prolonged missions.
Intuitive Machines’ entry is the latest in a series of landing attempts by countries and private outfits looking to explore the moon and, if possible, capitalise on it.
Japan made a landing last month, joining the US, Russia, China and India in the club of countries to have visited the surface.
A bystander hailed a hero after he tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen in the Bondi Beach shooting is a shop owner.
The man, named by a relative as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, was seen in a video running up to the attacker from behind and then grabbing the shotgun from his hands before pointing the weapon back at him.
The footage then showed the terrorist heading towards a bridge where another gunman was located, while the bystander placed the gun beside a tree.
Image: Ahmed al Ahmed (in a white T-shirt) is seen in a video running up to a gunman from behind
Mr Ahmed, who was wearing a white T-shirt, was shot twice in the incident and was due to have surgery, his cousin, Mustafa, has revealed.
In a video on 7News, Mr Ahmed appeared to have a bloodied arm and hand, and was helped by other people near the scene in the Australian city.
At least 11 people were killed and 29 others injured in the attack when two gunmen opened fire from a bridge on crowds at a Jewish event around 6pm local time on Sunday evening.
More than 1,000 people had been at the gathering which was celebrating the festival of Hanukkah.
Image: Mr Ahmed manages to get the gun off the terrorist
Image: The bystander then points the weapon at the attacker who moves away towards a bridge
A gunman was killed and another was in a critical condition following the shooting.
One of the suspects was 24-year-old Naveed Akram.
His driver’s licence says he lives in Bonnyrigg, a suburb of Sydney. The identity of the other suspected attacker is not known.
Image: Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the suspects
Mustafa said father-of-two Mr Ahmed, who owns a fruit shop in the Sydney suburb of Sutherland, did not have any experience with guns but was just walking past when he decided to step in.
He told 7News: “He’s in hospital and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside.
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One of the suspected gunmen has been named as 24-year-old Naveed Akram.
The footage of the bystander’s actions spread quickly on social media as people praised the man for his bravery, saying his actions had potentially saved many lives.
“Australian hero (random civilian) wrestles gun off attacker and disarms him. Some people are brave and then some people are… whatever this is,” one person said on X, sharing the video.
“This Australian man saved countless lives by stripping the gun off one of the terrorists at Bondi beach. HERO,” another said.
Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state, where Sydney is located, said it was the “most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen”.
“A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people.”
“That man is a genuine hero, and I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery,” he added.
The country’s prime minister Anthony Albanese praised the actions of Australians who had “run towards danger in order to help others”.
“These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives,” he told a news conference.
Messages were sweeping across Sydney within minutes of the attack at Bondi Beach.
Parents messaged their children and teenagers, who had been enjoying a late afternoon swim at Bondi.
Witnesses said police were on the scene quickly, and the streets of Sydney’s eastern suburbs were full of police cars and ambulances on their way to Bondi.
When we arrived, there were still dozens of people processing what had happened, and everywhere – shock.
Witnesses told us that when the gunfire started some people took cover in the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club. Once the threat was over, lifeguards helped the injured and used surfboards to carry them out.
Image: Witnesses tell Sky’s Nicole Johnston of Bondi ‘warzone’
Some people were clearly traumatised and provided graphic detail of witnessing the shooting and seeing people killed in front of them.
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A photographer, Danny, was covering the Jewish holiday event.
He said he “locked eyes” with one of the gunmen, who then fired towards him. Danny said he was grazed by a bullet. He kept filming during the shooting, while taking cover.
Sam, from France, was working at Bondi. He went to the scene of the attack and saw almost a dozen people lying on the ground covered in blood. Sam described it as like a “war zone”.
Rabbi Lei Wolff, from Central Synagogue in Sydney, went to Bondi as soon as he heard about the mass shooting. A dear friend of his, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was killed in the attack.
Rabbi Wolff has called on people around the world to stand with Australia’s Jewish community against terrorism.
A senior Hamas commander who was one of the architects of the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel has been killed in a strike on Gaza City, according to the country’s military.
Raed Saad was targeted in response to an attack by Hamas in which an explosive device injured two soldiers on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement.
It is the highest-profile killing of a senior Hamas figure since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect in October.
Gaza health authorities said the attack on a car in Gaza City killed five people and wounded at least 25 others, but there has been no confirmation from Hamas or medics that Saed was among the dead.
Image: Raed Saed
Hamas condemned the attack in a statement as a violation of the ceasefire agreement but stopped short of threatening retaliation.
An Israeli military official described Saed as a high-ranked Hamas member who helped establish and advance the group’s weapons production network.
“In recent months, he operated to re-establish Hamas’ capabilities and weapons manufacturing, a blatant violation of the ceasefire,” the official said.
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The 10 October ceasefire has enabled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza City’s ruins after a war that began after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seized 251 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 70,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health officials in Gaza.
Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased, but violence has not completely stopped.
Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed at least 386 people in strikes in Gaza since the truce, while Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed.