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A special landing spacecraft carried out the first American landing on the moon in more than 50 years, but it was able to send only a weak signal until flight controllers scrambled to get better communication.

With this achievement, the United States returns to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo landing on the moon in 1972.

The spacecraft, which was built and launched by Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based manufacturer and operator of the vehicle, sailed around the moon yesterday, Thursday, in the first An American attempt to land on the moon, more than half a century ago, and the first attempt ever conducted entirely by the private sector.

Despite intermittent communications, Intuitive Machines confirmed it had landed upright. But it did not provide additional details, including whether the vehicle had reached its intended destination near the moon's south pole. The company

ended its live webcast a short time later. "What we can confirm

, without a shadow of a doubt, is that our equipment is on the surface of the moon," said Tim Crane, mission manager, as tensions rose at the company's control center in Houston

. Intuitive Machines CEO “I know this was interesting, but we're on the roof and we're transmitting. “Welcome to the moon,” according to the Associated Press.

The data finally started flowing in, according to the company’s announcement two hours after landing.