--- title: "SpaceX Launches Private Moon Lander" description: "Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched a privately-owned Moon lander, which could set an historic precedent for the United States." date: "2024-02-15" modified: "2024-02-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-private-moon-lander" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "lunar lander" - "moon" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # SpaceX Launches Private Moon Lander ![Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched a privately-owned Moon lander, which could set an historic precedent for the United States.]() *\Image: SpaceX via X\* ## Precedented Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched a privately-owned Moon lander, which could set an historic precedent for the United States. As [*Space.com* reports](), the Odysseus lander, which is owned and operated by the startup Intuitive Machines, was launched atop one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets in the wee hours of the morning. If successful, the Odysseus lander will be both the first private lunar lander in history to make safe landfall on the surface of the Moon and the first American craft to touch down there since the [Apollo 17 mission]() in late 1972 — with the operative word here being "if." Early last month, another company, the Pittsburgh-based startup Astrobotic, [tried to get its own Moon lander]() onto the lunar surface with the help of NASA funding. Instead of nailing the landing, however, Astrobotic's Peregrine craft suffered a "[critica]()l" injury, spun out [into low-Earth orbit](), and eventually [burned up in our atmosphere](). What's worse, the Astrobotic launch failure was far from the first to fall short. As [*The Economist* explains](), only two of the five landers, private and public alike, that attempted launches last year actually made it — and the Japanese one [landed upside down](). ## Moon Age As NASA continues to [push back the launch dates]() of its own Artemis lunar mission — due, ironically, to [issues related to SpaceX]() — which will eventually see human boots on the Moon for the first time in more than half a century, the viability of these [incredibly expensive missions]() becomes all the more important. With its [11 payloads]() — six from NASA and five from commercial clients — there's clearly a lot riding on Odysseus. As such, the folks at Intuitive Machines are publicly optimistic about the lander's chances. "It is a profoundly humbling moment for all of us," Trent Martin, the company's vice president of space systems, said press conference earlier in the week, per *Space.com*. "The opportunity to return the United States to the Moon for the first time since 1972 demands a hunger to explore, and that's at the heart of everyone at Intuitive Machines." The hunger is clearly there, though one must also have an appetite for disappointment to succeed in the harsh lunar landing business. **More on the Moon:** [*New Chinese Lander to Start Building Base From Moon Dust Bricks*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()