WASHINGTON, MAR 6 (AFP/APP/DNA):A drill to search for ice. A 4G network test. Three rovers and a first-of-its-kind hopping drone.

After becoming the first private firm to land on the Moon last year, Intuitive Machines is aiming for its second lunar touchdown on Thursday, carrying cutting-edge payloads to support future human missions.

The Houston-based company is targeting no earlier than 12:32 pm ET (1732 GMT) at Mons Mouton, a plateau near the lunar south pole — farther south than any robot has ventured.

NASA will livestream the landing an hour before touchdown as Athena, the 15.6-foot (4.8-meter) hexagonal lander — about the height of a giraffe — begins its descent.

“It kind of feels like this mission is straight out of one of our favorite sci-fi movies,” said Nicky Fox, NASA’s associate administrator for science.

Intuitive Machines’ first landing in February 2024 was a landmark achievement but ended with its lander tipping onto its side, an outcome the company is determined to avoid this time.

The pressure is on after Texas rival Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost lander on Sunday, becoming the second private company to reach the Moon.

Both missions are part of NASA’s $2.6-billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which partners with private industry to cut costs and support Artemis, the initiative to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually reach Mars.