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.

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

SpaceX will try to launch an Intuitive Machines lunar lander this evening. Eight days later, Intuitive Machines will attempt to land its Nova-C lander, named Athena, on the moon. NASA paid Intuitive Machines nearly $50 million for this mission.

The next launch from Cape Canaveral is scheduled for February 26th, featuring a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying Intuitive Machines' second lunar lander. A bright and cold Friday morning saw a SpaceX rocket lift off on the latest Starlink mission.

NASA will send Intuitive Machines lunar lander atop SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center. You can livestream on iPhone, Android, YouTube

By Joey Roulette and Akash Sriram WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Intuitive Machines' second moon landing appears to have suffered the same fate as the company's first attempt last year, with issues involving a laser range finder causing landing problems that resulted in the Athena lander falling on its side on the lunar surface,

By Joey Roulette and Akash Sriram WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Intuitive Machines' Athena spacecraft does not appear to be upright on the surface of the moon, similar to last year's landing, the startup said at a press conference on Thursday.

The Intuitive Machines Athena lander appears to have touched down on the moon's surface, but the landing didn't go smoothly.

The commercially and privately constructed Athena spacecraft landed on the moon Thursday, the second such device to do so in a week.

The Houston-based company is poised to land its Athena spacecraft on the moon at 12:30 p.m. ET. The landing site closer to the lunar south pole than any human or vehicle has traveled before.

Intuitive Machines' Athena lands on moon but condition unknown. NASA and company await crucial updates amid ambitious lunar missions.