The American space agency NASA is currently using private companies to launch spacecraft to the moon. So far, the private, or commercial, missions have included both successes and failures.
The efforts support NASA’s preparations for its future moon exploration plans, beginning with its Artemis program. Artemis aims to send astronauts to the moon for the first time since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
But in recent years, a series of private spacecraft have been collecting data on lunar conditions and possible landing areas. The spacecraft are equipped with tools and instruments to help NASA learn about the moon’s environment.
Here is a look at some of the private lunar missions that have launched so far:
In 2019, a commercially developed lander from Israel became the first spacecraft to attempt a landing on the moon. The lander was called Beresheet, which in Hebrew means “in the beginning.” The private mission was led by the company SpaceIL in cooperation with the Israeli Space Agency.
On April 11, 2019, controllers on Earth lost contact with Beresheet as it was about to attempt a landing. Officials from SpaceIL later said the spacecraft suffered a non-survivable hard landing on the lunar surface. Shortly after the failure, SpaceIL announced it was planning another mission called Beresheet 2. No date has been set for that mission.
The Japanese company ispace launched a lunar lander in 2023. But the lander, called HAKUTO-R, crashed. The spacecraft was also carrying a rover – a vehicle to explore the moon’s surface – as well as a small robot. Ispace officials later said the crash was linked to the failure of a computer sensor.
The Japanese company has another lander headed to the moon. Company officials have said the landing attempt of that spacecraft, Resilience, will take place in June. Ispace says this mission will attempt to deploy a rover on the lunar surface to perform “surface exploration and data collection.”
In February 2024, Texas-based Intuitive Machines became the first private company to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. But its Odysseus lander fell over on its side. The spacecraft was able to operate only for a short time with limited communications.
Another U.S. company, Astrobotic Technology, also tried to send a lander to the moon in 2024. But that lander, called Peregrine, developed a fuel leak shortly after launch and did not reach the moon.
On March 2, U.S. company Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost spacecraft on the moon. The lander touched down on part of the moon’s near side called Mare Crisium. Firefly said the spacecraft landed in the right position and was operating normally.
The latest landing attempt happened on March 6. Intuitive Machines built and operated the Athena lander. But that mission failed after the spacecraft landed sideways near the moon’s south pole.
Officials from Intuitive Machines said the lander missed its landing target by more than 250 meters and landed in a cold crater. The next day, the company said the spacecraft was able to send back pictures confirming its position and activating a few experiments. But shortly after, the lander stopped operating.
Both Intuitive Machines and ispace have plans for more moon missions in the coming years.
The companies have contracts with NASA to provide space flight services and carry equipment and supplies to the moon. Such materials are called rocket payloads.
The NASA program is officially called the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. It aims to turn over many of the country’s major space missions to private companies to reduce costs. Several companies take part in the program.
NASA says the agency aims to launch at least two private landers to the moon each year. That is because some missions will fail. The space agency’s top science officer is Nicky Fox. She recently told the Associated Press the missions “open up a whole new way for us to get more science to space and to the moon."
I’m Bryan Lynn.
