malapert

Meanwhile, Nasa has a shortlist of lunar locations to send astronauts to later this decade in its Artemis programme - and one of them is Odysseus' targeted landing site, known as Malapert.

The targeted landing site was cratered terrain next to a 5km-high mountain complex known as Malapert.

The lander was programmed to pick, in real time, the safest spot near the so-called Malapert A crater.

The targeted landing site is a cratered terrain next to a 5km-high mountain complex known as Malapert.

"The six Nasa payloads and six commercial payloads expect to operate on the lunar surface for seven days before the Sun sets on our landing site at Malapert A Crater on the south pole of the Moon, rendering the IM-1 mission complete. During this time, we will be performing some amazing experiments and technology demonstrations," said Trent Martin, the company's vice president of space systems.