Topline
Houston-based Intuitive Machines is launching a spacecraft to the moon early on Thursday after technical issues prompted SpaceX to postpone take off late Tuesday night, eying a landing that would mark the first time a private company has ever touched down on the lunar surface and become the first American craft to land in decades, a month after the fiery failure of another US commercial attempt and the successful landing of Japan’s precise “moon sniper.”
Key Facts
Intuitive Machines plans to launch its Nova-C lander to the moon atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The mission, called IM-1, was slated to launch before dawn on Valentine’s Day from Cape Canaveral at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida but was delayed until at least Thursday due to a methane fuel issue.
Liftoff is now scheduled for 1:05 am Eastern Standard Time on Thursday.
The Nova-C lander, called Odysseus and nicknamed Odie, is planned to separate from the Falcon 9 rocket on a direct trajectory to the moon.
It is expected to attempt to touch down around the moon’s south pole region on February 22, around nine days after takeoff, and it is unclear whether the launch delay will alter this timeline.
The IM-1 launch can be watched on NASA’s livestream on the agency’s websites, social media channels and NASA TV , with Intuitive Machines and SpaceX also streaming the launch on their respective websites and social media.
What’s On Board?
Odysseus is hoping to carry a variety of items to the moon. Its payload includes an array of equipment and science experiments for NASA, which the company will reportedly be paid $118 million to deliver. Odie is also carrying a series of sculptures by artist Jeff Koons, part of an NFT crypto project, and material developed to insulate the lander developed by clothing maker Columbia Sportswear.
News Peg
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology failed in its attempt to land its Peregrine lunar lander on the moon’s surface in January following a catastrophic fuel leak shortly after takeoff. Rather than let Peregrine drift in space, enter orbit or crash into the moon, the company had it return to Earth, where it burned up in the atmosphere upon reentry. Peregrine, along with the IM-1 mission, is part of NASA’s effort to grow the emerging space economy and build commercial partners to facilitate further exploration. The pair form the first of numerous lunar missions planned as part of this public-private partnership, which NASA calls the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. In the long term, the agency hopes the program will bring down costs for its own missions and facilitate two lunar deliveries each year. It has earmarked $2.6 billion in funding for contracts through 2028, for which 14 American companies have been selected to bid for contracts, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Lockheed Martin Space.
