A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch a pair of lunar landers on a journey to our closest celestial neighbor — kicking off what’s expected to be a bustling year of moon missions amid a renewed race to establish a long-term human presence on the lunar surface.

Blue Ghost's final descent to the Moon is tentatively scheduled for March 2. The target landing site is in Mare Crisium, an ancient 350-mile-wide (560-kilometer) impact basin in the northeast part of the near side of the Moon.

Firefly's "Blue Moon" and ispace's "Resilience" are the latest in an ongoing push to gain private-sector experience exploring the moon.