Here's a look at moon landing hits and misses

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Landing a spacecraft on the moon has long been a series of hits and misses and now a U.S. company is the first private outfit to achieve a touchdown

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Landing a spacecraft on the moon has long been a series of hits and misses.

Now, a U.S. company has become the first private outfit to achieve a safe moon landing. Only five countries have done it.

A lander built by Intuitive Machines through a NASA-sponsored program touched down on the moon Thursday. It ended up tipped over on its side but was working with limited communications, company officials said Friday.

The achievement puts the U.S. back on the moon for the first time since NASA astronauts closed out the Apollo program in 1972.

The moon is littered with wreckage from failed landings over the years. Another U.S. company — Astrobotic Technology — tried to send a lander to the moon last month, but had to give up because of a fuel leak. The crippled lander came crashing back through the atmosphere, burning up over the Pacific.

Both U.S. businesses are part of NASA’s effort to support commercial deliveries to the moon.

A rundown on the moon’s winners and losers:

FIRST VICTORIES

The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 successfully touches down on the moon in 1966, after its predecessors crash or miss the moon altogether. The U.S. follows four months later with Surveyor 1. Both countries achieve more robotic landings, as the race heats up to land men.

APOLLO RULES

NASA clinches the space race with the Soviets in 1969 with a moon landing by Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Twelve astronauts explore the surface over six missions, before the program ends with Apollo 17 in 1972. Still the only country to send humans to the moon, the U.S. hopes to return