For the first time…the private sector is preparing to land a vehicle on the moon's surface

The new Vulcan Centaur rocket from the ULA group was placed on its launch pad in the US state of Florida in preparation for its scheduled take-off, the day after tomorrow, Monday, carrying an American lander that could become the first from the private sector to successfully land on the surface of the moon.
ULA, a joint company between the giant Boeing and Lockheed Martin groups, explained that the missile, which is about 62 meters long, was removed from its hangar and transported to the launch area, which is hundreds of meters away.
“Volken Centaur” is scheduled to take off for the first time at 02:18 local time (07:18 GMT) on Monday from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
Vulcan Centaur is supposed to allow ULA to provide launch services at more affordable prices, by replacing its Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets. The new rocket will be able to transport up to 27.2 tons to low Earth orbit, a payload similar to the Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX.
The mission carries a lander belonging to the emerging American company Astrobotic, which contains supplies for scientific experiments affiliated with the US Space Agency (NASA).
Next February 23 has been set as the date for the attempt to land on the moon.
The lander may become the first American vehicle to land on the surface of the moon since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, and Astrobotic may become the first private company to have a vehicle succeed in achieving this achievement.
Israeli and Japanese companies have previously attempted to land vehicles on the surface of the moon in recent years, but those missions ended in crashes.
Japan is also scheduled to attempt to land a vehicle on the moon's surface after two weeks, but the mission is affiliated with the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA).
To date, only the United States, the former Soviet Union, China and India have succeeded in landing vehicles on the moon.
The US Space Agency intends to send astronauts to the moon through its “Artemis” program, and subsequently seeks to develop a lunar economy that will enable it to rely on private companies, for example, to send equipment.