IM-2 is part of a new wave of private lunar exploration. For example, Firefly Aerospace successfully put its Blue Ghost lander down in the Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") region of the moon's northern hemisphere just this past Sunday (March 2).

Intuitive Machines said on Thursday that its robotic Athena lander has landed on the moon's surface but details of the spacecraft's status and health remained unclear, a tense moment in the company's second such attempt.

A lunar lander built by Intuitive Machines is scheduled to descend to the moon’s surface today, potentially marking the second landing by a private company on the moon in the last week, roughly a year after the aerospace firm completed the first lunar landing by an American spacecraft in decades.