A private US company will attempt to land a spacecraft close to the Moon's South Pole on Thursday, carrying scientific instruments including a hopping robot and the first lunar mobile communications antenna.

Intuitive Machines looks to park its Athena lunar lander on the moon’s south pole on Thursday on a mission with NASA payloads.

After a long journey through space, a US company is just hours away from attempting a daring lunar touchdown -- its spacecraft poised to become only the second private lander

ET: Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander performed a successful landing on the Moon earlier today. Original article follows: A private lunar lander is gearing up for its date with destiny. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost has been in space for 44 days,

A US company is aiming for its second lunar touchdown after a lander carrying a suite of unique experiments successfully launched aboard a SpaceX rocket on Wednesday.

Intuitive Machines made history last year as the first private company to put a robot on the Moon, although the triumph was marred by the lander tipping onto its side.

Watch Historic Moment as Blue Ghost Executes Perfect Moon Landing on Interesting Engineering. Explore the latest in technology!

The space exploration firm is scheduled to launch its six-legged Nova-C moon lander, Athena, on Wednesday as part of NASA's $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Athena is scheduled to launch aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This photo provided by NASA shows the Intuitive Machines' Athena lander approaching the surface of the moon on Thursday, March 6, 2025. (NASA via AP)

Blue Ghost left Earth on 15 January, with the intention of exploring the Sea of Crises, and is the latest collaboration between US space agency Nasa and private companies.