The spacecraft built and operated by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace launched in the early Monday hours from Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket.

US company Firefly Aerospace said Tuesday it is aiming to launch a lander to the moon next week under an experimental NASA program that partners with the commercial sector to reduce costs.

Two moon landers, one from Japan's ispace and another from U.S. space firm Firefly, began their journeys into space on Wednesday with SpaceX's unusual double moonshot launch, underscoring the global rush to examine the lunar surface.