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Two lunar landers are about to launch to the moon aboard a SpaceX rocket


Published on 2025-01-15 02:42:38 - MSN
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  • Two robotic landers are set to begin their journeys to the moon Wednesday morning, when they launch aboard a SpaceX rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

On February 15, 2024, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying two lunar landers as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The primary lander, Intuitive Machines' Nova-C, named Odysseus, aims to be the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the Moon since the Apollo missions, targeting a landing near the lunar south pole on February 22, 2024. Accompanying it is a smaller lander, Lunar Outpost's M1, which will not land but will orbit the Moon to test its systems. This mission marks a significant step in NASA's Artemis program, focusing on exploring the Moon's south pole for potential water ice and other resources, and represents a collaboration with private companies to advance lunar exploration.

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