Firefly Aerospace’s robotic vehicle became the second privately built spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. It could soon be joined by two more private lunar landers.

To make it off the moon’s surface and rejoin the command module in orbit, they needed to keep their spacecraft light to conserve fuel and make space for heavy ... shed their boots and left ...

Space companies need Starship's super-heavy heft to fly human habitats and mining equipment to the moon. The rocket just ...