Intuitive Machines: First pictures of Odysseus on the Moon show broken leg

Image source, Intuitive Machines

Image caption, This picture was the moment that the Odysseus probe landed on the moon. If you look at its bottom left leg, you can see that it's broken

The first pictures of the Odysseus probe on the Moon have been released.

The probe landed on the Moon's surface last Thursday (22 February).

It was sent up into space by US-based company Intuitive Machines, and contains science experiments for Nasa.

The first picture of the lander shows it with a snapped leg, lying on one side.

Image source, Intuitive Machines

Image caption, The day before landing, Odysseus sent Earth this selfie with the Moon in the background as it reached orbit

What happened to the Odysseus lander?

Last week, the Odysseus probe landed on the Moon's surface. Intuitive Machines - the US company that launched Odysseus into space - celebrated as they had just become the first people in the US in 50 years to land a spacecraft on the Moon.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Workers at Intuitive Machines cheered when they heard the news

Yesterday, the company announced that the mission was ending five days early. It was meant to last for ten days - but because of the navigation issues that the probe had when it landed, Intuitive Machines decided it would save the company money if they cut the mission short.

Odysseus landed on it's side on the Moon's surface, breaking a leg. There were also some navigation problems, caused by a laser safety switch not being unlocked before launch.

Luckily, Intuitive Machines say the experiments that the lander was going to do up on the Moon can still be done. Nasa sent some machines up in the probe, as a part of their preparation for the Artemis mission to send humans to the Moon.

Video caption, Moon mission Artemis II crew answer questions from schoolchildren