SpaceX rocket blasts off to the Moon’s mysterious south pole that could pave the way for human missions in 2026

SPACEX has successfully launched the Odysseus lunar lander, in what could be the start of the first US Moon landing in 50 years.

The Nova-C Odysseus will now embark on a week-long journey to the lunar surface.

The Odysseus pictured prior to launchIntuitive Machines

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is launched from a pad at Kennedy Space Center, seen from Port Canaveral, Fla. Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. (Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)

Intuitive MachinesOnce it’s on the surface, Odysseus will operate for just two weeks – or one lunar night[/caption]

The lander, built by Texas-based Intuitive Machines, aims to be the first private lunar lander to touchdown on the Moon.

The launch was initially scheduled for Valentine’s Day (14 February), however, it was postponed due to an issue with the fuel temperatures.

The 1,488lb (675kg) spacecraft blasted off aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6:05am GMT (1:05am ET).

Onboard the lander are 12 payloads, including a next-gen four-camera system to capture the journey down to the surface and landing sensors built in the UK by a company called MDA.

Should all go to plan, the spacecraft will make a lunar landing attempt on 22 February.

Once it’s on the surface, Odysseus will operate for just two weeks – or one lunar night.

“It is a profoundly humbling moment for all of us at Intuitive Machines,” Trent Martin, the company’s vice president of space systems, said during a prelaunch press conference on Tuesday.

“The opportunity to return the United States to the moon for the first time since 1972 demands a hunger to explore, and that’s at the heart of everyone at Intuitive Machines.”

It comes just weeks after US lunar lander Peregrine, failed to reach the surface following a fuel leak.

Peregrine disintegrated upon reentry to Earth’s atmosphere just 10 days after its launch.

Mysterious South Pole

Intuitive Machines is targeting a crater near the south pole, known as Malapert A, as the landing site.

Nasa’s Artemis III mission – the first human assignment on the Moon since Apollo 17 – will also explore the region near the lunar south pole.

This most recent push to the Moon is part of Nasa’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which aims to involve commercial companies in the exploration of the lunar surface.

This allows Nasa, instead, to channel its efforts – and cash – into getting astronauts back on the Moon.

It forms parts of a decade-long programme that is hoped to culminate with a permanent lunar base, which Nasa hopes to begin building by the end of the decade.

As part of this mission, the space agency has ushered in private industry to keep the sector busy with rocket launches and lunar landers.

India’s state agency mission to the Moon’s south pole was the first to successfully touch down.

The south pole is what scientists believe is the most promising location for water-based ice, which they say is key to future human habitation on the Moon.

The SunThe south pole is what scientists believe is the most promising location for water-based ice[/caption]