A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched lunar landers for Firefly Aerospace and the Japanese company ispace early this morning (Jan. 15).

SpaceX has sent Japanese and U.S. lunar landers on separate missions in a major step in the race to commercialize the Moon.

Firefly Aerospace's first mission to the moon is poised to launch in the early morning hours on Jan. 15. The company's Blue Ghost lunar lander is sharing a payload bay with another mission to the moon's surface,