The next set of NASA science and technology demonstrations is on its way to the lunar surface, where they will gather data about Earth's nearest neighbor and help pave the way for American astronauts to explore the Moon and beyond,

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the Intuitive Machines' lunar lander spacecraft Athena. The lander is targeted to land in the moon's south polar region.

The Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome in an impact basin on the moon’s northeastern edge of the near side. Confirmation of successful touchdown came from the company's Mission Control outside Austin,

A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth’s

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome in an impact basin on the moon’s northeastern edge of the near side. Confirmation of touchdown came from the company's Mission Control outside Austin,

NASA confirmed on X that Athena, which was built by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, touched down on the moon at approximately 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The moon lander Athena made it to the lunar surface, but its condition was unclear as mission controllers rushed to understand its status.

Commercial company Intuitive Machines is attempting to land a probe near the lunar south pole. If successful, it will be the second time a private company has landed on the moon in less than a week.

The latest mission, referred to as IM-2 or PRIME-1, is slated for a moon landing at 11:32 a.m. CT on March 6. Intuitive Machines and NASA will provide live event coverage, starting at 10:30 a.m. CT.