SpaceX has launched a private lander to the Moon.

As reported by Ukrinform, this information comes from SpaceNews.

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying Athena launched from the spaceport in Florida on the night of Thursday, February 27, according to Kyiv time.

Currently, IM-2 is en route to the Mons Mouton plateau, located at the southern polar region of the Moon. The lander is expected to attempt landing on this plateau on March 6.

It is noted that IM-2 carries, among other things, a payload for NASA. The device, named Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (PRIME-1), will be able to drill up to one meter deep to detect any water ice or other volatile substances that may be present there.

The lander itself resembles the first device from the company, IM-1 or Odysseus, which landed on the Moon almost exactly a year ago.

However, Intuitive Machines has made several modifications to Athena to address issues from the previous mission, including a laser altimeter that failed to operate at that time. This, in turn, led to a hard landing of the device, causing it to tip over on its side.

Among other things, Athena is transporting several commercial payloads, including the Micro Nova Hopper from Intuitive Machines. It will move across the Moon's surface by hopping using its own power system.

As Ukrinform reported, the American space craft Blue Ghost from Firefly Aerospace captured images of the Moon during its flight in orbit around it.

Photo: Brandon Lindner