The groundbreaking private moon mission is progressing successfully.

The robotic Odysseus moon lander, constructed by Houston-based company Intuitive Machines, was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early this morning (Feb. 15) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The launch proceeded seamlessly, and as intended, Odysseus initiated its autonomous operations.

The lander has been “successfully commissioned in space by establishing a stable attitude, solar charging and radio communications contact with the company’s mission operations center in Houston,” Intuitive Machines wrote in a brief update today about eight hours after launch, Space.com reported.

Odysseus, roughly the size of an English telephone booth, is scheduled to reach the moon in six days if everything proceeds as planned.

The initial step involves entering orbit around Earth’s closest celestial neighbor, followed by preparations for a landing attempt on the lunar surface on Feb. 22.

The targeted landing site is a small crater located approximately 190 miles (300 kilometers) from the lunar south pole.

If successful, this achievement would be historic, marking the first soft landing by a private spacecraft on the moon.

Additionally, it holds significance as the United States has not visited the lunar surface since the Apollo 17 astronauts returned to Earth in December 1972.

Written by B.C. Begley