
IM-1 Heads for the Moon
On January 15th, at 1:05 AM Eastern Time, Intuitive Machine’s NOVA-C lander Odysseus lifted off in support of the IM-1 mission – with the aim of becoming the first American spacecraft to make it to the lunar surface in over 50 years, following the failure of the Astrobotic Peregrine lander in January. The mission, the second under the Commercial Lunar Payload Service initiative, aims to deliver lower cost science packages to the lunar surface by utilizing If successful, IM-1 will become the first American spacecraft to set down on the South Pole, a region prized for its resources but rife for potential conflict in the near future.
Published by Space Scout on 02/15/2024