Two moon landers built by private U.S. and Japanese companies are on their way to the moon after lifting off early Wednesday on a shared ride aboard a SpaceX rocket. The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is the latest in a public-private program that put a spacecraft from Intuitive Machines on the moon last year. Wednesday’s launch included a lander from Japanese space exploration company ispace that is carrying a rover with the capability of collecting lunar dirt and testing potential food and water sources on the moon. The spacecraft is also carrying a small red “Moonhouse” built by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg. The ispace mission is expected to reach its destination on the moon’s far north in four to five months. The company is making its second attempt at a lunar landing, after a 2023 mission failed in the final stages. Also aboard the rocket heading toward the moon is a lander from U.S. company Firefly Aerospace that is set to carry out 10 experiments for NASA. The planned experiments include gathering dirt and measuring subsurface temperatures. The spacecraft is expected to arrive in about 45 days. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
