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.

A private company will attempt to complete a quick one-two punch at the moon’s face today as Intuitive Machines looks to follow up Firefly Aerospace’s recent lunar landing success, but this time on the south pole.

During the Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), the spacecraft took the first measurements of this kind since those taken by the Apollo missions over half a century ago. While Apollo landed near the moon’s equator, Chandrayaan touched down at a latitude of 69 degrees north—well into the moon’s previously unexplored polar regions.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Landing a spacecraft on the moon has long been a series of hits and misses.

Firefly Aerospace successfully reached the lunar surface, to be followed in short order by space companies Intuitive Machines and ispace.

The Blue Ghost touchdown kicks off two weeks of around-the-clock research by NASA science and technology payloads.