By Joey Roulette and Kantaro Komiya ORLANDO, Florida/TOKYO (Reuters) -Two moon landers, one from Japan's ispace and another from U.S. space firm Firefly, began their journeys into space on Wednesday with SpaceX's unusual double moonshot launch,

Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander has launched from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A, and is on a 45-day journey to the moon for NASA.

The Austin-area space firm’s Blue Ghost mission will gather more information about deep space and lunar environments for eventual crewed missions.

Two moon landers, one from Japan's ispace and another from U.S. space firm Firefly, lifted off on Wednesday from Florida on a SpaceX rocket in an unusual double moonshot launch, underscoring the global rush to peruse the lunar surface.

Two moon landers built by private U.S. and Japanese companies are on their way to the moon after lifting off early Wednesday on a shared ride aboard a SpaceX rocket. The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is the latest in a public-private program that put a spacecraft from Intuitive Machines on the moon last year.

One rocket, two missions: lunar landers built by US and Japanese companies launched their "rideshare" to the Moon on Wednesday, showcasing the private sector's growing role in space exploration."Each milestone we complete will provide valuable data for future missions and ultimately keep the United States and our international partners at the forefront of space exploration,