Intuitive Machines' second lunar lander, named Athena, snapped some amazing shots of its home planet shortly after launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 26.

The lunar lander built by aerospace company Intuitive Machines launched Wednesday on an eight-day journey for its water-hunting mission on the moon.

If you haven’t been hit with the overview effect in a while, take a moment to look at these beautiful pictures from Athena, a Moon lander launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket earlier this week alongside other payloads.

More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and the United States' return to the lunar surface, when the first-ever private lander touched down last February.

The IM-2 mission lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:16 p.m. ET, February 26, 2025. Athena reached her intended orbit approximately 44 minutes later and established first communication at approximately 8:17 p.m. ET.

Intuitive Machines' second moon lander was launched on Wednesday atop a SpaceX rocket, setting off for the latest private U.S. moonshot one year after the company's first attempt ended early with a lopsided landing.

Three private lunar landers are on their way to the moon right now, a surge of exploration never before seen in spaceflight history.

The American company achieved the first successful moon landing by a private spacecraft last year. Now, it has sent a new mission to the south pole, carrying science instruments for NASA