Built by Firefly Aerospace and Ispace, the pair of spacecraft will land separately in the moon's northern latitudes, conduct science experiments and test new technology

On its 100th launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted two lunar landers into space early Wednesday morning. The pair are two separate spacecraft from two different customers — one made by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace for NASA,

Firefly’s Blue Ghost — named after a species of U.S. Southeastern fireflies — should reach the moon first. The 6-foot-6-inches-tall (2-meter-tall) lander will attempt a touchdown in early March at Mare Crisium, a volcanic plain in the northern latitudes.

the Soviet Union, China, India and Japan. Separately, SpaceX is also conducting its seventh orbital flight test of its Starship rocket, which is due to take off from Texas at 16:00 local time (22: ...

SpaceX has sent Japanese and U.S. lunar landers on separate missions in a major step in the race to commercialize the Moon.

The launch comes as NASA aims to put a human on the moon again before the end of the decade - something last achieved in 1972.

SpaceX launches lunar landers for U.S. and Japanese companies, aiming to advance lunar exploration and research.