Commercial spaceship set for lunar touchdown, in test for US industry

WASHINGTON, D.C.: A company from Texas is poised to attempt a feat that until now has only been accomplished by a handful of national space agencies, but could soon become commonplace for the private sector: landing on the Moon.

If all goes to plan, Houston-based Intuitive Machines will guide its spaceship named Odysseus to a gentle touchdown near the lunar south pole on Thursday at 2249 GMT, then run experiments for NASA that will help pave the way for the return of astronauts later this decade.