Intuitive Machines, a leading space exploration, infrastructure, and services company, has announced it has entered into a Cooperation Agreement with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) to advance safe, secure, and reliable lunar communications and navigation infrastructure in cislunar space. Cislunar space encompasses the region of space that extends from Earth’s gravitational influence to the Moon’s surface, including its orbit out to over 2 million kilometers distance.

Under the agreement, Johns Hopkins University APL intends to collaborate with Intuitive Machines to determine potential hardware applications that could benefit the United States. Intuitive Machines may adapt these advancements for commercial use, furthering its leadership in the cislunar economy.

“This partnership is the leap toward establishing safe, secure, and reliable communications and navigation around the Moon, an area where we believe technology advancement is needed,” said Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus. “APL has a strong history of advancing solutions to critical challenges in defense, national security, and space exploration. We’re excited to combine APL’s innovation with Intuitive Machines’ proven cislunar expertise.”

“Cislunar space is critical to our nation,” said Bobby Braun, head of APL’s Space Exploration Sector. “The combined technical strength of Johns Hopkins APL and Intuitive Machines holds the promise to dramatically accelerate the achievement of America’s scientific, exploration, and security objectives in cislunar space.”

This partnership further advances Intuitive Machines’ vision for building cislunar infrastructure, providing a critical foundation for space domain awareness, data transmission, and navigation services. These efforts align with the Company’s Near Space Network Services contract with NASA to deploy a constellation of lunar data relay and navigation satellites around the Moon. The lunar constellation is central to Intuitive Machines’ strategy to commercialize the Moon, supporting international customers, commercial ventures, and NASA’s Artemis campaign. The contract introduces a pay-by-the-minute service model focused on scalable data transmission and navigation services, a significant step that the Company believes will boost margin potential through a subscription-like revenue model.

Click here to know more about Intuitive Machines' Lunar Access Services