American aerospace company Intuitive Machines has successfully launched its second lunar mission, IM-2, to deliver NASA science payloads to the Moon.

The mission lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:16 p.m. EST (5:46 a.m. IST), according to Xinhua news agency.

Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander, Athena, will take approximately one week to reach the Moon, with landing expected no earlier than March 6. The lander is carrying scientific instruments designed to study the lunar environment and support future human exploration efforts.

“Lighting the way to the Moon: As Intuitive Machines’ lander lifts off aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, it takes with it NASA science and tech,” NASA posted on social media platform X. The agency stated that the IM-2 mission will help researchers better understand the Moon’s conditions in preparation for future crewed missions.

IM-2 will demonstrate lunar mobility, resource prospecting, and volatile substance analysis from subsurface materials. This is a key step in identifying water sources beyond Earth, essential for building sustainable infrastructure on the Moon and in space, according to Intuitive Machines.

As part of the mission, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft also launched as a rideshare payload. It will enter lunar orbit to map the distribution of different forms of water on the Moon.

Last year, Intuitive Machines made history when its first lunar lander, Odysseus, became the first American spacecraft to land on the Moon in more than 50 years.