Private lunar lander is closing in on the first US touchdown on the moon in a half-century

A private lunar lander is circling the moon while aiming for a touchdown near the south pole. A successful landing Thursday would put the U.S. back on the moon's surface for the first time since NASA's famed Apollo moonwalkers, more than 50 years ago. The Houston company Intuitive Machines is striving to become the first private business to pull off a smooth lunar landing. The lander blasted off from Florida a week ago. A rival company's lander missed the moon last month. The companies are part of a NASA program to have private businesses make deliveries to the moon