SpaceX will launch Intuitive Machine’s Athena lunar lander toward the moon’s south pole on Wednesday, marking the latest mission by Intuitive Machine to explore the moon’s surface after completing the first-ever lunar landing by a private company last year.

The IM-2 is headed for an expected landing at the moon's south pole March 6 carrying a payload of exploration gear.

A robotic moon lander known as Athena is scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with a mission to explore the moon’s south pole. The same rocket will also launch a moon-mapping satellite developed by NASA,

The latest, Athena from Houston-based Intuitive Machines, is targeting a 7:17 p.m. launch Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A. It would join two commercial

NASA is set to launch its Nova-C lander ’Athena’ on February 26 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. This mission, part of the CLPS initiative, aims to conduct science investigations and technology demonstrations on the Moon.

In coordination with SpaceX, launch of the Company’s IM-2 mission is targeted for a multi-day launch window that opens no earlier than February 26 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A robotic moon lander is about to launch on a SpaceX rocket. It's the second lunar mission for a private company that last year became the first to successfully land on the moon’s surface.

Intuitive Machines out of Texas is sending a second lunar lander, this time Athena, to the moon, where it will drill for water, ice and other gases.

Intuitive Machines is poised to launch its second lunar lander in as many years, marking a significant milestone in commercial space exploration.