CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Intuitive Machines is poised to launch its second lunar lander in as many years, marking a significant milestone in commercial space exploration.
The mission, known as IM-2, is set to lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center here on Florida's Space Coast on Wednesday (Feb. 26), at 7:17 p.m. EST (0017 GMT on Feb. 27). You'll be able to watch the liftoff live via NASA and/or SpaceX when the time comes.
The spacecraft, an Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander named Athena, is carrying a suite of lunar science instruments and technology demonstrations aimed at advancing our understanding of the moon's environment and its available resources.
IM-2 is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which contracts with private companies to deliver scientific instruments and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface. Through the CLPS initiative, NASA hopes to accelerate exploration and research in preparation for future crewed missions to the moon and a sustained presence on the lunar surface under the agency's Artemis program. Fittingly for this mission, in mythology, Athena is Artemis' half-sister.
IM-2 follows Houston-based Intuitive Machines' first mission to the moon, IM-1, which launched in February 2024. Despite a rough touchdown during which the mission's lander, named "Odysseus," tipped partway over, IM-1 provided the company with valuable insights for future missions.
"We ended up on our side, and we weren't able to use our large, high-gain antenna to send data back to the Earth," Trent Martin, Intuitive Machines' senior vice president of space systems, told Space.com. "This time, hopefully, we land in a more precise position."
That "precise position" is near the moon's south pole — specifically, the Mons Mouton region. That area is of particular interest to researchers due to its potential water ice deposits, which are considered essential for future human exploration and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU).
Assessment of the local lunar resources is one of IM-2's primary focuses. Athena will deploy NASA's Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (PRIME-1) –– a two-instrument device composed of a drill called TRIDENT (The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain) and MSolo mass spectrometer (Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations). Together, the duo will extract and analyze lunar material from up to 3 feet (1 meter) beneath the surface to test for volatiles like water and carbon dioxide.
"This is an important technology demonstration," said Niki Werkheiser, director of technology maturation at NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, during an IM-2 press briefing on Tuesday (Feb. 25). "It will provide critical data to help us better understand the moon’s surface and minimize the risk to future ISRU missions."
Athena also carries an Intuitive Machines Micro-Nova hopper vehicle nicknamed "Grace," in honor of computer science pioneer Grace Hopper. With a range of nearly a mile from Athena, Grace is equipped with an inertial measurement unit, star tracker, lidar and a situational awareness camera. Grace will undertake multiple "hops" across the lunar surface and explore the interior of a permanently shadowed crater.
To communicate with Grace when the hopper is out of sight of the Athena lander, a separate rover named MAPP (Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform), built by Colorado company Lunar Outpost, will be deployed to the lunar surface with the moon's first cellular network. Developed by Nokia Bell Labs, this Lunar Surface Communications System will test high-speed, long-range communication using components already used in current 4G/LTE networks around Earth.
Athena is also outfitted with a Laser Retro-Reflector Array (LRA). The LRA is a set of eight small mirrors mounted on the lunar lander to reflect laser light back to an emitting spacecraft, enabling precise determination of the lander's location on the moon's surface. Like the reflectors that guide planes, the LRA mirrors can provide guidance and navigation for future missions, both crewed and robotic.
"LRA is completely passive — it requires no power, thermal control or interaction with the lander, allowing it to be used for decades on the lunar surface," explained Daniel Cremons, LRA deputy principal investigator at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Maryland. "If a laser altimeter, either during orbit or descent, shines onto the Laser Retroreflector Array, it will show up as thousands of times brighter than the surrounding terrain — like landing lights on a runway."
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Following launch, the solar-powered Athena will set course for a four- to five-day journey to lunar orbit. The lander will touch down 1.5 to three days later, then operate on the lunar surface for about 10 Earth days.
In addition to Athena, the Falcon 9 launch will also carry NASA's Lunar Trailblazer, a small satellite designed to map water ice deposits. Lunar Trailblazer will deploy during transit and enter orbit around the moon to conduct its scientific mission.
Intuitive Machines isn't the only one headed to –– or already in orbit around –– the moon. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and Japan-based ispace's Resilience landers both launched toward the moon atop a Falcon 9 last month. Blue Ghost is already in lunar orbit and is poised to land on Sunday morning (March 2).
Blue Ghost is also flying under the CLPS umbrella and aims to deliver NASA payloads to the lunar surface, facilitating a rapid growth of activity around our nearest celestial neighbor. (Resilience isn't flying any NASA payloads.)
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