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Two privately-owned spacecraft make contact from the moon

Blue Ghost was the first private lunar lander to not crash or fall over. Athena fared less well

The legs of a lander against the blackness of space, the moon at lower left

The Athena lander, built by Texas company Intuitive Machines, orbited the moon ahead of its attempt to land on March 6.

Intuitive Machines

By Lisa Grossman

Updated

This year’s hot destination is the moon. Two landers built by private companies just touched down on the moon within a week of each other. One landed softly and safely — a first for any private spacecraft — while the other did not.