Private moon lander lifts off aiming for first US lunar touchdown in 52 years

Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander sets off on SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral on weeklong journey

A solar-powered lunar lander designed by a former Nasa engineer who became frustrated by the space agency's bureaucracy lifted off from Florida early on Thursday on a mission to become the first private spacecraft to achieve a controlled moon landing.

Odysseus, the working name for the uncrewed Nova-C lander built by the Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines, lit up the skies above Cape Canaveral shortly after 1am on a Falcon 9 rocket from Elon Musk's SpaceX company.