Nasa hands over control as new era of moon missions readies for lift-off

The mission will take the first US lander to the moon in more than half a century. Photograph: Laurent Emmanuel/AFP/Getty Images

To the casual observer, the preparations under way at Cape Canaveral in Florida point to nothing more than a routine launch of another spacecraft to the latest destination in the solar system.

But the mission, scheduled for take-off on Christmas Eve, marks a turning point in space exploration. Rather than running the show, Nasa is handing over control: it has paid a private company, Astrobotic, to design a spacecraft and handle its launch and landing.