The space exploration firm is scheduled to launch its six-legged Nova-C moon lander, Athena, on Wednesday as part of NASA's $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Athena is scheduled to launch aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Intuitive Machines designed and will operate the Athena lunar lander on the company's second voyage to the moon's south pole to hunt for water.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is about to launch a number of missions, including a private lunar lander, a lunar satellite for NASA and a prospecting probe for an asteroid-mining company