Intuitive Machines, one of the leading space exploration, infrastructure, and services companies, announced in coordination with SpaceX, that the launch of the Company’s IM-1 lunar mission is now targeted for a multi-day launch window that opens no earlier than mid-February 2024. The updated window comes after unfavorable weather conditions resulted in shifts in the SpaceX launch manifest.
The mid-February launch window is the next available opportunity to launch IM-1 given the monthly lunar blackout period; the IM-1 mission Nova-C lunar lander is targeted to land near the south pole of the Moon, requiring specific lighting conditions that are only available for a handful of days each month.
The Company’s IM-1 mission Nova-C lunar lander remains ready. As previously announced, Intuitive Machines delivered its IM-1 mission Nova-C lunar lander to Cape Canaveral, Florida, earlier this month. Since arriving in Florida, the IM-1 lunar lander has completed major system tests, verification, and certification milestones and is prepared for integration with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission will be the Company’s first attempted lunar landing as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (“CLPS”) initiative, a key part of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration efforts. The science and technology payloads sent to the Moon’s surface as part of CLPS intend to lay the foundation for human missions and a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.
Click here to learn more about Intuitive Machines' IM-1 Lunar Mission.
