SpaceX Set to Launch Private Moon Lander, Along with NASA 'Flashlight' Probe - Gizmodo

The Falcon 9 is set to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 3:39 a.m.

The Falcon 9 first stage will attempt a vertical landing on Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station approximately eight minutes into the mission.

Hakuto-R, a product of Tokyo-based ispace, will attempt to deploy the company’s Mission 1 (M1) lander to the lunar surface.

The Hakuto-R M1 lander will perform exploratory duties as a stationary probe, but it will also attempt to deliver several payloads to the surface, including the 22-pound (10-kilogram) Rashid rover built by the United Arab Emirates and a transformable ball-like robot, named SORA-Q, developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the TOMY toy company.

Other Hakuto-R payloads include an AI-powered flight computer from the Canadian Space Agency, a lunar camera developed by Canadian company Canadensys, a solid-state battery, a CD containing the song “SORATO” performed by Japanese band Sakanaction, and panel engraved with the names of crowdfunding supporters.

The Falcon 9 will also launch JPL’s Lunar Flashlight, a probe that’s designed to work from a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon.

CAPSTONE is setting the stage for a future space station, called Gateway, but Lunar Flashlight is on a different mission.