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This image released by NASA shows Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander being encapsulated in the payload fairing, or nose cone, of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket on November 21, 2023, at Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. More than 50 years after the last Apollo mission, the United States will try once again to land a craft on the Moon on January 25, said the head of what could be the first private company to successfully touch down on the lunar surface.
The lander, named Peregrine, will have no one on board. It was developed by American company Astrobotic, whose CEO John Thornton said it will carry NASA instruments to study the lunar environment in anticipation of NASA's Artemis manned missions. (Photo by NASA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / NASA " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS