Within the span of a few days, another SpaceX Starship broke up on re-entry, and two other space companies faced failures. This reflects a new "fail-fast, learn-fast" ethos of spacecraft development.

Intuitive Machines, the company that built and flew the spacecraft, said it will continue to collect data until sunlight no longer shines on the solar panels, expected to happen Tuesday morning.

Odysseus — the first U.S. lander in over 50 years — tipped over at touchdown and ended up on its side near the moon's south pole, hampering communications, Intuitive Machines officials said Friday.

The Houston-based company has pulled off the first successful commercial landing on the lunar surface. It's America's first soft landing in decades.