India, Feb. 27 -- On Wednesday night, NASA launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket the Intuitive Machines' lunar lander named Athena from its Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Aboard the mission are a suite of NASA technology and science instruments along with commercial payloads on their way to the Moon as part of the agency's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign. These instruments aim to help the agency develop capabilities needed to explore the Moon under Artemis and in advance of human missions on the lunar surface.
NASA said that at approximately 8:01 p.m. EST, Intuitive Machines' lunar lander separated from the rocket, powered on approximately 12 minutes later, and will continue its weeklong journ...