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.

Image Credit: Intuitive Machines

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.

Image credit: Intuitive Machines

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

Image credit: Intuitive Machines

 

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