IM-2 is part of a new wave of private lunar exploration. For example, Firefly Aerospace successfully put its Blue Ghost lander down in the Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") region of the moon's northern hemisphere just this past Sunday (March 2).

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.

A live stream of the event, cohosted by NASA and Intuitive Machines, is set to begin about an hour before landing. If successful, the 15-foot-tall (4.6-meter-tall) Athena will join a lunar lander developed by another Texas-based company — Firefly Aerospace of Austin suburb Cedar Park — on the surface of the moon.