NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines of Houston a contract to provide research, including scientific investigations and technology demonstration, to the Moon in 2024. The commercial delivery is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and the Artemis program.
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Intuitive Machines' Nova-C spacecraft is targeting Reiner Gamma, one of the most distinctive and enigmatic natural features on the Moon. Known as the lunar vortex, Reiner Gamma is located on the western edge of the Moon as seen from Earth, and is one of the most visible lunar vortexes. Scientists are continuing to learn what lunar vortexes are, how they form, and their relationship to the Moon's magnetic field.
Intuitive Machines will receive $77.5 million for the contract and is responsible for end-to-end delivery services, including payload integration, delivery from Earth to the lunar surface, and payload operations. This is Intuitive Machines’ third task order award, the first of which is a delivery to Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon in the first quarter of 2022. This award is the seventh surface mission award issued to a CLPS partner.
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The four probes that Intuitive Machines will deliver to Reiner Gamma are collectively expected to be approximately 92 kilograms in mass and include:
- Lunar Vertex is among NASA’s choices for the Lunar Surface Investigation and Research (PRISM) payloads. It is a combination of fixed lander payloads and a rover that will make detailed measurements of the magnetic field, plasma environment, and regolith properties. The lander and rover data will augment observations collected in orbit. Combined, the observations will help show how these lunar vortices form and evolve—and how they are linked to local magnetic fields in the same regions. Lunar Vertex is funded by the agency’s Science Mission Directorate and managed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
- Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE) consists of mobile robots programmed to work as an autonomous team to explore the lunar surface, collect data, and map different areas of the Moon in 3D.
- The MoonLIGHT reflector is a laser reflector that reflects laser beams sent from Earth directly behind the Moon to receivers on Earth. This allows for very precise measurement of distances between the reflector and the ground station. MoonLIGHT is operated by the European Space Agency (ESA).
- The Lunar Space Environment Monitor (LUSEM) uses a pair of apertures to detect high-energy particles on the lunar surface. LUSEM will monitor fluctuations in the near-surface space environment when the Moon is in and out of Earth's magnetotail. LUSEM is managed by the Korea Institute of Astronomy and Space Science (KASI) in South Korea.
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As NASA continues plans for multiple commercial deliveries to the Moon, future payloads that may be delivered with CLPS could include other rovers, power sources, and scientific experiments, including technology demonstrations that will later be incorporated into the Artemis program.
Learn more about CLPS at .
