IM-2 is part of a new wave of private lunar exploration. For example, Firefly Aerospace successfully put its Blue Ghost lander down in the Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") region of the moon's northern hemisphere just this past Sunday (March 2).

The Athena lander, built by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines, descended to the lunar surface but the orientation of the lander is currently unknown.

The commercially and privately constructed Athena spacecraft landed on the moon Thursday, the second such device to do so in a week.