SpaceX Launches First Commercial Lunar Lander Towards Moon
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SpaceX launched a commercial lunar lander called Nova-C to the moon on a Falcon 9 rocket. The spacecraft was built by Intuitive Machines for NASA.
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The lander aims to touch down on Feb 22, which would be the first soft lunar landing by the US since Apollo and the first ever commercial lunar landing.
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The lander is carrying NASA payloads to demonstrate technologies for future moon missions and study the south polar region where there may be water ice.
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NASA sees these commercial lunar delivery services as a test of the private sector's readiness to support its Artemis campaign to return astronauts to the moon.
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Other companies like Astrobotic are also attempting commercial robotic moon landings under contract with NASA, though technical issues have complicated some attempts.