X This fall, the Nova-C Lunar Lander will be the first vehicle to softly touch down on the moon since the Apollo Program in 1972. And that means — also for the first time since then — that Houston will serve as the control center for a mission to the moon. Except, it won't be NASA's Johnson Space Center at the helm. The private company Intuitive Machines designed the lander, which is scheduled to launch Nov. 8 on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It will spend nearly two weeks on the lunar surface conducting experiments aimed at helping inform future manned missions back to the moon.