Two private lunar landers head towards the Moon

Tokyo-based ispace has its  rover named ‘Resilience’ on board with a scoop to gather up lunar dirt for study and plans to test potential food and water sources

SpaceX launched a pair of lunar landers on Wednesday for US and Japanese companies looking to jumpstart business on Earth’s dusty sidekick. The two landers rocketed away in the middle of the night from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, the latest in a stream of private spacecraft aiming for the moon. They shared the ride to save money but parted company an hour into the flight exactly as planned, taking separate roundabout routes for the monthslong journey.

Tokyo-based ispace has its  rover named ‘Resilience’ on board with a scoop to gather up lunar dirt for study and plans to test potential food and water sources.

Lunar newcomer Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is flying 10 experiments for NASA on its ‘Blue Ghost’ lander, including a vacuum to gather dirt, a drill to measure temperature below the surface and a device that could be used by future moonwalkers to keep the sharp, abrasive particles off their spacesuits and equipment.

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