Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based company, is set to make history by becoming the first private company to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface. Their Nova-C lander, named “Odysseus,” will be launched to the moon atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The liftoff is scheduled for 12:57 a.m. EST on Wednesday, February 14th, which also happens to be Valentine’s Day.
Originally planned for January, the mission was delayed due to bad weather. Now, Intuitive Machines has a three-day window to launch the mission, known as IM-1, in order to reach its target of landing on the moon on February 22nd. However, all signs point to a successful liftoff on Wednesday.
Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s vice president of build and flight reliability, expressed his pride in being part of this historic mission during a press conference. He stated, “We’re ready, and we’re ready for whatever comes in the days ahead.”
NASA will provide a livestream of the launch, starting at 12:15 a.m. EST, which can be watched on NASA TV, the agency’s NASA+ streaming channel, and its website. Space.com will also host a simulcast of NASA’s webcast on their homepage and YouTube channel.
Once Odysseus reaches the moon on February 22nd, it will attempt to touch down near Malapert A, a companion crater close to the 43-mile-wide Malapert Crater near the moon’s south pole. If successful, the probe will remain active on the lunar surface for about a week until the frigid lunar night sets in.
Odysseus is carrying six scientific experiments for NASA and six payloads for commercial customers. This partnership with NASA marks the second time the agency has sent science payloads to the moon aboard a private spacecraft as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program (CLPS). The first CLPS payloads were aboard Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander, but unfortunately, it suffered an anomaly and fell back to Earth’s atmosphere.
Among the payloads Odysseus will carry for NASA are a laser reflector array that will serve as precision landmarks for future landers, a new LIDAR-based sensor to test landing techniques, tiny cameras to study the interaction between the lander’s exhaust plume and the lunar surface, a radio navigation beacon to test autonomous landing and positioning techniques, and ROLSES, which will measure the electromagnetic conditions on the lunar surface.
In addition to the NASA payloads, Odysseus will also carry private payloads. These include a special insulative material experiment developed in collaboration with Columbia Sportswear, a sculpture series by artist Jeff Koons, and a “secure lunar repository” developed by the Arch Mission that carries works of literature and historical archives.
The CLPS missions, like IM-1, are paving the way for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon. These commercial missions will help build a network of infrastructure on the lunar surface to be used by Artemis astronauts in the future.
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus mission is an exciting step forward in lunar exploration. As the first private company to attempt a soft landing on the moon, they are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in space exploration. With NASA’s support and the collaboration of commercial partners, this mission sets the stage for future endeavors and brings us one step closer to establishing a sustainable human presence on the moon.
