
The Intuitive Machines Nova-C lunar lander.. IM-1 mission is targeting Malapert-A crater near the Moon’s south pole.
Image credit: Intuitive Machines
Next up…for trying to get down on the Moon!
Built by the private group, Intuitive Machines of Houston, Texas, their IM-1 Nova-C lunar lander is ready for takeoff next month, no earlier than mid-February.
Under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, IM-1 will haul to the Moon six NASA payloads that will focus on spacecraft engine plume interactions with the lunar landscape, a space weather on the Moon experiment, a radio astronomy payload, hardware to provide ultra-precise velocity and range sensing during the descent and landing of the Nova-C lander, and a Laser Retro-reflector Array (LRA) – a device that showcases the ability to assist future spacecraft to precisely spot-land during lunar day or night.
Touchdown territory
Under the lunar exploration eye of Mark Robinson at Arizona State University, he and his research associates offer insight into the landing region of IM-1.
Making use of the super-powerful NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s LROC system, the landing area has been imaged, a touchdown locale within roughly 185 miles (300 kilometers) of the south pole, between the craters Malapert C and Malapert B and east of Malapert A, in relatively ancient terrain within the south pole Aitken basin.
Meanwhile, Malapert massif, an informal name, is thought to be a remnant of the south pole – Aitken basin rim, which formed more than 4 billion years ago, Robinson explains. More recently, this magnificent peak was selected as an Artemis 3 candidate landing region for a crew, he adds.

IM-1 landing area between the craters Malapert C and Malapert B and east of Malapert A, in relatively ancient terrain within the South Pole Aitken basin.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Lighting conditions
The delivery of the Nova-C lunar lander to Cape Canaveral, Florida took place in December of last year.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is to send the lander moonward, a liftoff timed for just a handful of days each month due to the required lighting conditions at the chosen spacecraft landing place on the Moon.
Once successfully down on the Moon, Nova-C is expected to operate in the lunar south pole region for nearly two weeks.
Commercial payloads

Delivery of the Nova-C lunar lander to Cape Canaveral, Florida took place in December of last year.
Image credit: Intuitive Machines
On the commercial payload side, IM-1’s Nova-C also totes Columbia Sportswear’s reflective technology, a firm that creates novel apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment for outdoor enthusiasts.
Also onboard is EagleCam, a camera system from Embry‑Riddle’s Space Technologies Lab that is ejected from the lander on approach to the Moon and intended to capture the first-ever third-person picture of a spacecraft making an extraterrestrial landing.
Then there’s Moon Phase artworks comprising 125 unique artworks.
Another payload on the lander is billed as the first data center to the Moon.
In addition, the ILO-X payload is a miniaturized dual-camera lunar imaging suite that is a precursor to the International Lunar Observatory Association’s (ILOA) Hawai’i flagship Moon south pole observatory, ILO-1. This ILO-X gear is capable of taking imagery from the lunar surface of the Milky Way, among other tasks.
Toss is for good measure, a set of microfiche disks that carry messages called “lunagrams,” words and photos intended to show future civilizations how we lived and loved.

ILO-X payload is a miniaturized dual-camera lunar imaging suite .
Image credit: ILOA/Steve Durst/Intuitive Machines