US Moon lander ‘permanently’ asleep after historic landing: company [Video]

An uncrewed American lander that became the first private spaceship on the Moon has met its ultimate end after failing to “wake up,” the company that built it said.

Houston-based Intuitive Machines said late Saturday that the lander, named Odysseus, had not phoned home this week when its solar panels were projected to receive enough sunlight to turn on its radio.

The lander touched down at a wonky angle on February 22, but was still able to complete several tests and send back photos before its mission was determined to have ended a week later, as it entered a weeks-long lunar night.

Intuitive Machines had hoped that it might “wake up” once it received sunlight again, as Japan’s SLIM spaceship — which landed upside down in January …