SpaceX wants to land its Starship rocket on the moon SpaceX
Around a dozen landers are aiming for touchdown on the lunar surface next year, with the goal of developing the technology necessary to build a permanent human presence there.
This fusillade of launches is part of an ongoing campaign to ramp up exploration of the moon, fuelled in part by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme. This involves funding spacecraft from private companies, which carry a combination of NASA’s own science instruments and payloads from other customers.

![Small dome in the Compton-Belkovich region (61.33 ?N, 99.68 ?E). Evidence indicates a volcanic origin for this and other intriguing features in the region. Incidence angle is 64?, Sun is from the SSW, image is ~510 m across. NAC image number M139238146L [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].](https://images.newscientistbeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/07172644/SEI_163208069.jpg)

