NASA’s Peregrine Mission One rocket has blasted off into space marking America’s first attempt at a moon landing in 50 years.
The Vulcan rocket – carrying the Peregrine lunar lander – launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida just before dawn on Monday.
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“Everything looking good,” mission control said, adding there is good hydraulic and chamber pressure on both engines.
If successful, the spacecraft could be the first US mission to land on the moon since 1972.
It is the debut flight for both the 202ft Vulcan rocket and the 6ft-tall Peregrine lunar lander – costing NASA £85million.
NASA scientists will have to wait until February 23 for the Peregrine lander to deliver their scientific instruments to the moon.
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Astrobotic Technology aims to be the first private business to successfully land on the moon – something only four countries have achieved.
Astrobotic CEO John Thornton said: “The hour-long descent to the lunar surface by far the biggest challenge will be exciting, nail-biting, terrifying all at once.”
A Houston company also has a moon lander ready to fly – and could beat Peregrine to the lunar surface, taking a more direct path.
NASA dished out millions to the two companies to build and fly their own lunar lands.
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The space agency wants the privately owned landers to scope out the place before astronauts arrive.
They will deliver NASA tech and science experiments, as well as odds and ends for other customers.
Besides flying up experiments for NASA, Astrobotic packed the Peregrine lander with a chip of rock from Mount Everest and toy-size cars from Mexico.
They also blasted off ashes and DNA of dead space enthusiasts, including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.
The last time the US launched a moon-landing mission was in December 1972.
Apollo 17s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt became the 11th and 12th men to walk on the moon, closing out an era that has remained NASA’s pinnacle.
The space agency’s new Artemis programme – named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology – looks to return astronauts to the moons’ surface within the next few years.
First will be a lunar fly-around with four astronauts, possibly before the end of the year.
Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen are set to be on the mission.
The Soviet Union and America racked up a string of successful moon landings in the 1960s and 70s – before putting touchdowns on pause.
China joined the elite club in 2013 and India last year.
And there were also landings from Russia and a private Japanese company.
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Next month, SpaceX will provide the lift for a lander from Intuitive Machines.
The Nova-C lander’s more direct route could see both spacecraft attempting to land within days or even hours of one another.
