SpaceX launched a private spacecraft to the moon

SpaceX launched an American spacecraft to the moon. 2024 could be a busy year for private lunar landings.

According to Tekna technology news service, SpaceX has launched an American spacecraft to the moon from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is the second private lander launched this year to land on the moon. The lander in question belongs to the Intuitive Machines company and is considered a non-governmental organization that was able to make a soft landing on the moon for the first time. If the lander of this private company can be successfully placed on the moon. It is the first time that an American spacecraft has landed on the moon since the Apollo missions.

Intuitive Machines' Nova-C Hexagonal Lander is a private spacecraft that will land on the moon. This spacecraft managed to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center with the help of the Falcon 9 rocket with a delay of one day due to the problem and detection of excessive temperature during refueling.

The lander, now en route to the moon, has an engine fueled by super-cold liquid methane and oxygen to help it reach its destination faster. Also, due to its high speed, the duration of this spacecraft's stay in the Van Allen radiation belt is also less.

While there has been a one-day delay in the launch of this spacecraft, Osideus will reach the Malapert Crater on the moon as planned on March 3. Malapert Crater is located close to the south of the moon and at a distance of 300 km from it. NASA plans to build a permanent facility next to the crater to use the ice in the area for rocket fuel and drinking water for the Artemis missions.

According to the contract with NASA, a budget amounting to 118 million dollars has been paid so that this private company can build new scientific instruments and use them to better understand the environmental risks of the moon and its effect on the astronauts on the lunar surface. The lander also has another new cargo, one of them is the digital archive of human knowledge and the other is 125 small moon sculptures by Jeff Koons.

This is the second private mission to the moon launched this year. It is also a subset of NASA's commercial lunar cargo service program, which aims to encourage the private sector and increase economic prosperity on the moon.