No private company has yet to execute a controlled spacecraft landing on the moon, but a pair of U.S. firms are vying to be the first and could snag the debut title in just a few weeks.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobiotic Technology is poised to be the first to launch, with its Peregrine lander currently loaded aboard the United Launch Alliance’s brand new Vulcan rocket. The package is due to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 2:18 a.m. local time on Monday, Jan. 8.
Peregrine is the first lander mission for Astrobiotic, which started in 2007, and the company is aiming to become the first commercial company to successfully land a spacecraft on the lunar surface. The lander carries a total of 20 commercial payloads from six different countries, including five from NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. The payload teams have missions that vary from seeking indications of water-ice near the lunar surface to demonstrating a rover swarm. The lander also has several payloads representing humanity through artwork and historical artifacts, according to Astrobiotic.
“If you’ve been following the lunar industry, you understand landing on the Moon’s surface is incredibly difficult,” said John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic, in a press release. “With that said, our team has continuously surpassed expectations and demonstrated incredible ingenuity during flight reviews, spacecraft testing, and major hardware integrations. We are ready for launch, and for landing.”
If all goes to plan, the Peregrine lander will attempt a historic lunar landing on Feb. 23.
Houston-based Intuitive Machines was founded in 2013 and while its Nova-C lunar lander isn’t scheduled to take flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket until mid-February, it could actually beat Peregrine to the moon thanks to a more direct flight path. According to a report from The Associated Press, the Nova-C could be set for a landing within a week after leaving its home planet.
Both Astrobiotic and Intuitive Machines programs are supported by funding under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services and are executing their first missions under contracts worth $79.5 million and $77 million, respectively.

NASA says commercial deliveries by companies participating in the lunar lander effort, which has $2.6 billion in funding through 2028, will perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help the U.S. space agency explore the moon as it prepares for human missions planned as part of its multiphase Artemis program.
According to a recent assessment by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, NASA’s Artemis effort is currently tracking to return astronauts to the lunar surface no sooner than 2027.
While the U.S. has launched a handful of lunar orbiters in the past decades, no U.S spacecraft has landed on the surface of the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
The launch of Astrobiotic’s Peregrine lander will be carried live on NASA TV with coverage scheduled to begin at 1:30 a.m. EST on Jan. 8.