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.

Intuitive Machines out of Texas is sending a second lunar lander, this time Athena, to the moon, where it will drill for water, ice and other gases.

SpaceX has successfully launched Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander toward the moon in the IM-2 mission. Watch the launch here.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

The Falcon 9 rocket, packed with exploratory payloads, is scheduled to blast off at 7:17 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 26. Watch it live right here.

Intuitive Machine's second mission to the moon, IM-2, is set to launch Wednesday evening from KSC. Onboard is NASA science. Here's what to know.

Watch live as NASA launches the Intuitive Machines IM-2 moon lander mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission will show that the tools and experiments onboard can be used to find different forms of water on the moon.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has been looking to build new Starship launchpads near its primary launch sites in Florida, as it works in Texas on early development and testing of the next-generation rocket designed to loft bigger loads of satellites into space and put humans on the moon later this decade.

The company reached the lunar surface in 2024, and now its second lander aims to improve on the feat. Three other spacecraft also hitched a ride on the SpaceX rocket.

A private company is launching another lunar lander toward the moon. Intuitive Machines’ lander blasted off on Wednesday aboard SpaceX from Florida. It's taking a fast track to the moon with a landing next week,