US company's lunar lander rockets toward the moon for a touchdown attempt next week

Another private U.S. company is taking a shot at the moon, launching a month after a rival's lunar lander missed its mark

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Another private U.S. company took a shot at the moon Thursday, launching a month after a rival’s lunar lander missed its mark and came crashing back.

NASA, the main sponsor with experiments on board, is hoping for a successful moon landing next week as it seeks to jumpstart the lunar economy ahead of astronaut missions.

SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted off in the middle of the night from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, dispatching Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander on its way to the moon, 230,000 miles (370,000 kilometers) away. The lander resembled a stunning six-pointed star jewel — each point a leg — as it successfully separated from the upper stage and drifted off into the black void with the blue Earth far below.

If all goes well, a touchdown attempt would occur Feb. 22, after a day in lunar orbit.

Only five countries — the U.S., Russia, China, India and Japan — have scored a lunar landing and no private business has yet done so. The U.S. has not returned to the moon's surface since the Apollo program ended more than five decades ago.