EPIC FAIL: Musk Moon Lander Crash Landed, Knocked Out, Cameras Broken, No Pics

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The Odysseus Moon lander is likely lying on its side with its head resting against a rock.

The US spacecraft, which made history on Thursday by becoming the first ever privately built and operated robot to complete a soft lunar touchdown, is otherwise in good condition.

Its owner, Texan firm Intuitive Machines, says Odysseus has plenty of power and is communicating with Earth.

Controllers are trying to retrieve pictures from the robot.

Steve Altemus, the CEO and co-founder of IM, said it wasn't totally clear what happened but the data suggested the robot caught a foot on the surface and then fell because it still had some lateral motion at the moment of landing.

All the scientific instruments that planned to take observations on the Moon are on the side of Odysseus that should still allow them to do some work. The only payload likely on the "wrong side" of the lander, pointing down at the lunar surface, is an art project.

"We're hopeful to get pictures and really do an assessment of the structure and assessment of all the external equipment," Mr. Altemus told reporters.

“It was quite a spicy 7-day mission to get to the moon,” Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, said Friday. “The vehicle is stable near or at our intended landing site. We do have communications with the lander.”