Intuitive Machines (LUNR.O), opens new tab was set on Wednesday for the launch of its second moon lander, aiming to make the latest private U.S. moonshot one year after the space company's first lunar mission ended early with a lopsided landing.

The six-legged lander, named Athena and roughly as tall as a giraffe, is encapsulated atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its launch scheduled for 7:17 p.m. [0017 GMT Thursday], the start of a four-day launch window if Wednesday's attempt gets scrubbed.