In the space race to make history, another private company aims for the moon – Washington Examiner

A United States company aimed for the stars on Thursday, hoping to land on the moon after a rival lunar lander failed last month.

As part of a mission to be the first U.S. lunar lander to touch the moon in more than 50 years, Intuitive Machines joined the growing competition with an attempt to become one of the first private companies to do so.

The midnight launch of the NASA-sponsored SpaceX’s Falcon saw the rocket take off for the 238,000-mile journey from its lift-off at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA-SpaceX online video showed Intuitive Machines’ six-legged Nova-C Lander, Odysseus, dispatching from the Falcon 139 miles above Earth.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The rocket is carrying Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander on its way to the moon. If all goes well, a touchdown attempt would occur Feb. 22, after a day in lunar orbit.(AP Photo/John Raoux)

Although considered an Intuitive Machines mission, NASA reported that the spacecraft will also carry six NASA instruments that serve to collect data on how engine gasses interact with the moon’s surface and kick up lunar dust, while also investigating radio astronomy and space weather interactions.

If the late February touchdown is successful, they will make history as the first private company to score a lunar landing. The United States, Russia, Japan, India, and China are the only other countries to reach the moon. Despite attempts, no private company has done so.

This image from video provided by SpaceX via NASA TV shows Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander separating from the rocket’s upper stage and heading toward the moon, on Feb. 15, 2024. (SpaceX -NASA TV via AP)

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Astrobotic, another private rival company, attempted the same mission last month. Hours after it went into orbit, the lander experienced a propellant fuel leak, and any chance of arrival on the moon disappeared.

SpaceX launched a U.S. military classified mission on Feb. 14, sending six missile-detection satellites into orbit.