A joint New Zealand and US team working on plans to send a rocket to the moon, say they're on track for a launch by the end of the year.

Florida-based Moon Express has been working with Rocket Lab since 2015.

If the project reaches that goal and achieves a number of tasks on the surface, it would take the $20 million (USD) Google Lunar X prize.

Current plans are for the lander to be blasted into orbit on a Rocket Lab Electron.

The lander is about 1.8 metres tall, weighs about 250 kilograms and would fly to the moon in four days.

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