Moon landing today: private firm to make first US attempt in 50 years

A spacecraft built and flown by Houston-based company Intuitive Machines sailed around the moon on Thursday to attempt the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever entirely by the private sector.

The six-legged robot lander, dubbed Odysseus, was due to begin the final descent from lunar orbit with a blast of its main engine about an hour before landing, with touchdown anticipated at 6:24 p.m. EST (2324 GMT) on Thursday, according to the company's latest flight plan.