Intuitive Machines is able to go to the moon. The corporate introduced Monday that its first lunar lander has accomplished all remaining integration milestones and is now encapsulated in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 payload fairing, the place it’ll keep till launch on February 14.
The mission launch window opens at 12:57 a.m. EST; ought to climate or different points delay the mission, SpaceX could have three days to execute the launch. The tight timeline comes right down to the main points of the mission: The lander is taking a direct trajectory to the moon, and it’s focusing on a web site close to the lunar south pole, the place particular lighting circumstances for touchdown are solely accessible a number of days every month.
This might be Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission. The Houston-based firm was based 11 years in the past by Stephen Altemus, who serves as president and CEO; Tim Crain, CTO; and prolific house trade entrepreneur Kam Ghaffarian. The corporate was early to see the commercial promise of the moon; it acquired its contract from NASA for this mission again in 2019. Extra not too long ago, Intuitive Machines went public through a merger with a particular goal acquisition firm in February 2023, although the transaction generated less capital than was initially projected.
There’ll seemingly be numerous eyes on the mission, provided that it follows on the heels of an unsuccessful try by one other American firm, Astrobotic, whose lander failed to succeed in the moon due to a disastrous propellant leak. That spacecraft burned up within the Earth’s ambiance as part of a coordinated reentry plan on January 18.
Each corporations had been chosen for his or her respective missions as a part of NASA’s Industrial Lunar Payload Companies (CLPS) program, designed to solicit transportation providers to the moon from personal trade. In complete, NASA is paying Intuitive Machines $118 million to ship its six science and know-how payloads to the lunar floor.
The CLPS program can be a key a part of the company’s Artemis program; the thought is that business suppliers ship scientific payloads to the floor, which can gather information and inform future crewed moon missions.
Intuitive Machines is hoping to pave the best way for business success within the nascent lunar economic system, with the corporate engaged on not simply lunar landers however a lunar information relay service, a lunar rover and different applied sciences and providers for each the moon’s floor and cislunar house.
“The IM-1 mission’s success will lay the groundwork for a burgeoning lunar economy, opening new possibilities for research, commerce, and exploration,” the corporate stated in a press package printed final week. “By advancing our capabilities to operate on the lunar surface, the mission sets the stage for more ambitious endeavors, including the establishment of lunar bases and the exploration of potential resources.”
Along with the six NASA payloads, the lander will even carry a handful of economic payloads for patrons together with Columbia Sportswear and the up to date artist Jeff Koons. The lander, dubbed Odysseus, is predicted to function for seven days on the moon earlier than the lengthy and chilly lunar night time units in.
