If the Odysseus craft lands safely it would be the first private mission to successfully land on the Moon.
If the spacecraft Odysseus's mission is successful, its owner Intuitive Machines will make history as the first private company to land on the Moon.The robotic craft will attempt to land on the lunar surface's south pole, where scientists hope there could be a source of water.
The craft launched at 01:05 EST on top of a Falcon 9 rocket made by Elon Musk's SpaceX company.It was the third attempt, after bad weather prevented a launch in January and another was called off on Wednesday due to irregular methane temperatures."We have to be humble about it," a representative for Intuitive Machines said on Thursday minutes before the launch.The lander uses a combination of liquid methane and oxygen for fuel, which had to be loaded into the craft before lift-off.
It is also carrying commercial payloads, including 125 tiny sculptures made by US artist Jeff Koons. He hopes they will be the first artworks to make it to the lunar surface. Its journey to the Moon should take about a week. It aims to land about 186 miles from the south pole on the Moon's near side.It would be the first time an American spacecraft has landed in that area, which is of interest to scientists because it could be home to frozen water.
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