Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic had an abortive go in January 2024 with its Peregrine lunar lander, which suffered a crippling fuel leak shortly after launch and ended up crashing back to Earth. A month later, Houston company Intuitive Machines made history with its Odysseus craft, which touched down near the lunar south pole.

Earth lost contact with the private Japanese spacecraft "Resilience" during an attempted moon landing on Thursday. The lander was carrying what would have been the first European-built rover to explore the moon.