Intuitive Machines

By Mark Carreau
Launched Feb. 26, Intuitive’s Athena Nova-C lander descended autonomously onto Mons Mouton in the lunar south pole region on March 6 at 12:31 p.m.
Space Exploration

By Irene Klotz
NASA’s commercial lunar services initiative scores another major win.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau
Intuitive and NASA are awaiting imagery from the agency’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to establish whether Athena is upright, leaning, or tipped over.
Space Exploration

By Irene Klotz
Flight controllers at Houston-based Intuitive Machines were able to establish communications with their Nova-C lunar lander following its Feb. 26 launch.
Space Exploration

By Irene Klotz
The mission for Intuitive Machines is the fourth in a series of NASA-backed technology development and flight service contracts.
Space Exploration

By Garrett Reim
The company aims to mine asteroids for water to be used directly as fuel, or broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, which also could be used as fuel.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
IM’s first Nova-C lander, named Odysseus, touched down near the lunar south pole’s Malapert A crater on Feb. 22, 2024.
Space Exploration

By Irene Klotz
Owned and operated by Firefly Aerospace, the lander, known as Blue Ghost, is aiming for a gentle touchdown in Mare Crisium.
Space Exploration

By Mark Carreau
The awards were made under the commission’s Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund (SEARF) grant program initiative.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Mark Carreau
The awards are part of the Artemis program’s objectives of establishing a sustainable human presence at the Moon to prepare for human expeditions to Mars.
Space Exploration

By Mark Carreau
Planned for launch no earlier than late February, the IM-2 mission’s Athena Nova-C lander is to touch down at Mons Mouton.
Space Exploration

By Mark Carreau
Each commercial contract agreement task order is scheduled to take effect from February 2025 through September 2029, with an option for the five-year extension.
Space Exploration

By Mark Carreau
Intuitive Machines and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab will work to enhance the safety, security and reliability of a cislunar comms and navigation network.
Space Exploration

By Mark Carreau
The company provided a static version of the two-person vehicle to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in September.
Space Exploration

By Mark Carreau
The firm, fixed-price multiple award task order contract becomes effective Oct. 1.
Space Exploration

By Mark Carreau
The NASA science and technology payloads will be focused on identifying the location of water, ice, gas and other volatiles in the region.
Space

By Garrett Reim
New technologies are leveraging the advantages of GEO.
Satellites

By Mark Carreau
The joint services will become available after 2025.
Space

By Mark Carreau
The mission is planned to launch to the lunar south pole in late 2024.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA is continuing its efforts to partner with the U.S. commercial space sector while striving to establish a human presence at the Moon.
Space

By Irene Klotz
Scrappy Houston startup Intuitive Machines puts the U.S. back on the surface of the Moon.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
The JAXA Smart Lander for Investigating Moon set a standard Intuitive Machines hopes to meet with its Odysseus lunar lander soon.
Space

By Irene Klotz
Intuitive Machines expects to lose communications with its Nova-C lunar lander Odysseus early on Feb. 27 after 4 1/2 days on the Moon’s surface.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
Flight controllers at Intuitive Machines conducted their first mission on the Moon’s surface Feb. 23.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
Flight directors at Intuitive Machines’ mission control center were working to refine the signal from its Nova-C lander, which touched down on the Moon Feb. 22.
Commercial Space