Intuitive Machines Nova-C#IM-2 mission

In 2017, Space Policy Directive 1 signaled the intention of returning NASA astronauts to the Moon. NASA documents obtained by The New York Times suggested the agency would involve the private spaceflight sector in the effort.

In 2018, NASA solicited bids from nine companies, including Intuitive Machines, for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. CLPS is part of the NASA Artemis program; one of the long term goals of Artemis is establishing a permanent crewed base on the Moon. Intuitive Machines was one of three service providers awarded task orders in 2019 for delivery of NASA science payloads to the Moon.

In 2021, Intuitive Machines received a NASA contract that was initially valued at US$77 million to conduct lunar landings for NASA. After contract modifications, the total contract value came to US$118 million in 2024.

The lander structure is a hexagonal cylinder with six landing legs and is {{cvt|3.938|m}} tall. It has a launch mass of {{cvt|1908|kg}} and can hold a payload of {{cvt|100|kg}}.

File:NASA Selects First Commercial Moon Landing Services for Artemis Program (47974872533) Nova C Crop.jpg

Nova-C was developed by Intuitive Machines, inheriting technology from NASA's Project Morpheus. Its gimbaled VR900 main engine uses methane and oxygen as liquid propellants. Pressurized by helium gas, the engine produces {{cvt|3100|N}} of thrust. For attitude{{efn |attitude here refers to orientation of the spacecraft}} control the vehicle uses a helium reaction control system (RCS). Each thruster in the RCS produces 4.45 N (1 lbf) of thrust.

At launch Nova-C is filled with {{cvt|845|kg}} of liquid oxygen, {{cvt|422|kg}} kg of liquid methane and {{cvt|17|kg}} of gaseous helium.{{Cite web |last=Gilliland |first=Tyler |title="our LOx/LCH4 numbers are in fact swapped in our proposal." |url=https://x.com/tgilliland89/status/1761855610528665940?s=20}}

Propellant is loaded onto Nova-C at the launch pad alongside propellant loading of the launch vehicle. Use of liquid methane and liquid oxygen is believed to be an enabling technology for future deep space missions. Propellants aboard the lander were stored in composite over-wrap liner-less cryogenic tanks. Thermodynamic venting systems provide cryogenic cooling.

Nova-C landers use solar panels as a source of electrical power. Most areas of the lunar surface are sunlit during lunar days, which last approximately fourteen Earth days.

Electrical power is generated by a photovoltaic system with three solar panels, a top deck panel and two body panels, generating a combined maximum of 200 W on the lunar surface. A 25 amp-hour battery supplies power to a 28 VDC bus for use by the spacecraft when power generation lags consumption.

Nova-C is capable of 24/7 data coverage for its client payloads

The lander is designed to stay upright when landing on a slope of up to 10 degrees.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/science/moon-landing-sideways-gravity.html | title=Why It's So Challenging to Land Upright on the Moon | work=The New York Times | date=4 March 2024 | last1=Chang | first1=Kenneth | access-date=5 March 2024 | archive-date=5 March 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305052649/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/science/moon-landing-sideways-gravity.html | url-status=live}} The lander includes autonomous landing and hazard detection technology and once landed is still capable of relocating itself to a second landing site by performing a vertical takeoff, cruise, and vertical landing.

Intuitive Machines is conducting the first three Nova-C missions for the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The landers are tasked with delivering small science and technology-development payloads.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20190602114824/http://www.spaceminingnews.com/2018/11/30/intuitive-machines-headed-to-the-moon-in-2021/ Intuitive Machines Headed To The Moon In 2021]}} Space Mining News 30 November 2018

{{Main article|IM-1}}

The lander for the first Nova-C mission, IM-1, was named Odysseus. A contract for the mission was signed in 2021, with later modifications. The mission launched 15 February 2024 on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle. It landed with a "rough"{{cn|date=March 2024|reason=without a reliable source this is original research}} - soft landing on 22 February 2024 in the South Pole region of the moon, approximately at 80.13° South latitude and 1.44° East longitude, inside a shallow 1 km diameter crater with a 12° slope. The lander came to rest about 1.5 km away from the intended landing site near the Malapert A crater. The line of approach brought Odysseus in from the northeast over Schomberger crater.

Upon initial contact with the lunar surface, the lander broke a leg off of the hexagonal body, and bounced back along the line of approach, with the main engine and RCS firing to null out vertical and lateral velocities. After landing vertically, the lander slowly settled onto the lunar surface with the top solar array pointed in the general direction of Schomberger crater. One of the rectangular arrays, originally intended to be vertical, is on top and angled 30° with the horizontal, or about 18° with the lunar surface.[https://www.nasa.gov/missions/lro/nasas-lro-images-intuitive-machines-odysseus-lander/ NASA’s LRO Images Intuitive Machine’s Odysseus Lander] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226185207/https://www.nasa.gov/missions/lro/nasas-lro-images-intuitive-machines-odysseus-lander/ |date=26 February 2024}} Nasa.gov. February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2424.[https://qz.com/sideways-moon-landing-cuts-mission-short-private-us-lu-1851286363 Sideways moon landing cuts mission short, private US lunar lander will stop working Tuesday] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226205430/https://qz.com/sideways-moon-landing-cuts-mission-short-private-us-lu-1851286363 |date=26 February 2024}} Quartz/ qz.com. By Marcia Dunn. February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024. IM announced that until entering standby mode on February 29, 2024, Odysseus had transmitted over 350 megabytes of science and engineering data from all payloads, and it will try to revive Odysseus during the next lunar day.[https://investors.intuitivemachines.com/news-releases/news-release-details/intuitive-machines-historic-im-1-mission-success-american Intuitivemachines.com news update February 29, 2024] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301152731/https://investors.intuitivemachines.com/news-releases/news-release-details/intuitive-machines-historic-im-1-mission-success-american |date=1 March 2024}} Retrieved March 1, 2024.

Odysseus's "rough" - soft Moon landing is the first soft landing of any kind for an American made spacecraft since Apollo 17, more than 50 years ago, and the first by a private company. The soft Odysseus landing also qualifies the Odysseus mission as the first liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox) powered spacecraft to fire beyond low earth orbit, as well as the first methalox spacecraft to land on an off-world celestial body.[https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bxegh13yo6p8f3nwxv83z/24-02-28-b-reply-from-steve-altemus.pdf?rlkey=48m09hfmv9hkv5lftd4f84bp5&dl=0 Intuitive Machines Press Release] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316012954/https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bxegh13yo6p8f3nwxv83z/24-02-28-b-reply-from-steve-altemus.pdf?rlkey=48m09hfmv9hkv5lftd4f84bp5&dl=0 |date=16 March 2024 }} Mindsviewpress. By Steve Altemus. February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.

After the landing Odysseus was resting on the surface at a 30° angle with the horizontal.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} It has been confirmed by Tim Crain, CTO of Intuitive Machines, that one of the landing leg struts broke off during the landing, and that the lander is resting on a helium tank and/or a computer shelf that was strapped outside of the main fuselage. Based on telemetry received by mission controllers Odysseus appeared in "good health." The antennas were not vertically aligned as initially planned, and transmissions from the lander were somewhat reduced. Both science and engineering data were received from the lander. It was hoped that a data link could be restored with Odysseus after lunar sunrise occurs at Malapert A crater, although this was not a requirement of the mission, On March 23 Intuitive Machines announced that Odysseus would not wake up and that the mission had ended.{{Cite web |last1=Sriram |first1=Akash |last2=Varghese |first2=Harshita |last3=Roulette |first3=Joey |date=February 23, 2024 |title=Intuitive Machines shares descend fast after the CEO says the moon lander is on its side |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/intuitive-machines-rockets-higher-after-landing-spacecraft-moon-2024-02-23/ |access-date=February 23, 2024 |website=Reuters}}[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/02/28/odysseus-moon-lander-press-conference-nasa/72772049007/ Watch live: NASA, Intuitive Machines share updates on Odysseus moon lander] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228211230/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/02/28/odysseus-moon-lander-press-conference-nasa/72772049007/ |date=28 February 2024 }} USAtoday.com. By Emily DeLetter. February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.{{Cite tweet |user=Int_Machines |number=1771609255616909738 |date= March 23, 2024|title= Mission Status|access-date=March 8, 2024}}

Odysseus touched down on the Moon in the middle of a lunar day, and was expected to remain functional for approximately six Earth days (until February 27), when the cold lunar night will set in and the solar panels will no longer be able to supply power. IM engineers announced that they may be able to maintain communication with Odysseus for an additional 10 to 20 hours after the sun has gone down over the Odysseus landing site, due to Odysseus's battery capacity. It was also announced that the Odysseus data feed back to Earth has been sending back payload related science data as well as images.[https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-1 Lunar Surface Day Five Update] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222235227/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-1 |date=22 February 2024 }} Intuitivemachines.com. February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.

IM and NASA held a joint press conference on February 28 to discuss and review the IM-1 mission.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa2n2-_hLPM NASA, Intuitive Machines Moon Mission Update February 28, 2024] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301195459/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa2n2-_hLPM&ab_channel=NASA |date=1 March 2024}} Retrieved March 1, 2024.

{{Main article|IM-2}}

Intuitive Machines was selected in October 2020 in order to land its second Nova-C lander near the lunar south pole. IM-2 Athena was launched on 27 February 2025. In May 2024, the company shared IM-2 entered into its final assembly stage.{{Cite tweet |user=Init_Machines |number=1787845786916528621|date= May 7, 2024|title=Assembly Photo|access-date= March 8, 2025}} The primary payload, PRIME-1, includes the TRIDENT ice drill to sample ice from below the lunar surface and the MSolo mass spectrometer to measure the amount of ice in the samples.{{cite web | url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=PRIME-1 | title=NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Details | access-date=18 July 2022 | archive-date=24 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524213348/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=PRIME-1 | url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-intuitive-machines-to-land-water-measuring-payload-on-the-moon|title=NASA Selects Intuitive Machines to Land Water-Measuring Payload on the Moon|last=Brown|first=Katherine|publisher=NASA|date=16 October 2020|access-date=15 November 2020|archive-date=18 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018054728/https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-intuitive-machines-to-land-water-measuring-payload-on-the-moon/|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}}

ILO-1 prime contractor Canadensys was working to deliver "a flight-ready low-cost optical payload for the ILO-1 mission, ruggedized for the Moon South Pole environment". It could potentially be ready for integration on the IM-2 mission.{{Cite web |date=2021-04-07 |title=The ILO Mission – ILOA Hawai'i |url=https://iloa.org/the-ilo-mission/ |access-date=2023-09-22 |language=en-US |archive-date=3 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103082627/https://iloa.org/the-ilo-mission/ |url-status=live }}

The μNova (Micro-Nova) Hopper was to separate from the Nova-C lander after landing and function as a standalone hopper lander, exploring multiple difficult-to-reach areas such as deep craters on the lunar surface.{{cite web|url=https://www.intuitivemachines.com/copy-of-leadership-partners|title=Lunar Services – Getting Around – Extreme Lunar Surface Mobility|publisher=Intuitive Machines|access-date=22 June 2021|archive-date=28 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628060759/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/copy-of-leadership-partners|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.intuitivemachines.com/post/intuitive-machines-to-deploy-and-operate-first-lunar-communication-satellite-in-2022|title=Intuitive Machines to Deploy and Operate First Lunar Communication Satellite in 2022|publisher=Intuitive Machines|date=21 June 2021|access-date=22 June 2021|archive-date=21 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621183004/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/post/intuitive-machines-to-deploy-and-operate-first-lunar-communication-satellite-in-2022|url-status=live}}

The MiniPIX TPX3 SPACE payload, provided by the Czech company ADVACAM, will be onboard the Nova-C lunar lander. This payload is designed to monitor the radiation field on the Moon and help understand how to protect crew and equipment from the negative effects of cosmic rays. This marks the first Czech payload planned to be delivered to the Moon's surface.{{cite web |url=https://advacam.com/camera/minipix-space/ |title=Advacam – MiniPIX TPX3 Space |access-date=2 November 2023 |archive-date=1 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101094836/https://advacam.com/camera/minipix-space/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.lsu.edu/research/news/2021/0504-tiger-eye-1.php |title=LSU's Tiger Eye-1 to Monitor Radiation Environment in Deep Space |access-date=2 November 2023 |archive-date=6 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706011244/https://lsu.edu/research/news/2021/0504-tiger-eye-1.php |url-status=live }}

Space technology company Lunar Outpost sent their first lunar rover, the Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP), on this mission in a partnership with Nokia Bell Labs and Intuitive Machines. MAPP was to collect lunar samples for NASA under a contract worth just $1, symbolic of a new incentive for the commercial space industry to access resources in space.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Arianna |date=2022-11-09 |title=MIT Will Return To The Moon For The First Time Since Apollo, Thanks To This Space Startup |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2022/11/09/mit-will-return-to-the-moon-for-the-first-time-since-apollo-thanks-to-this-space-startup/?sh=731b823b6d72 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Forbes}}{{Cite web |last=Thorbecke |first=Catherine |date=2020-12-05 |title=NASA will pay a firm $1 to go to the moon and get a sample |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nasa-pay-firm-moon-sample/story?id=74540402 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=ABC News}} Photos of the samples and other data will be transmitted through radio equipment and antennas to communicate with the Nova-C lander.{{Cite web |title=An inside look at Nokia's Moon mission - images |url=https://www.nokia.com/about-us/newsroom/media-resources/media-library/inside-look-at-nokia-moon-mission/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Nokia}}{{Cite web |date=2023-07-25 |title=An inside look at Nokia's Moon mission |url=https://www.nokia.com/about-us/newsroom/articles/inside-look-at-nokia-moon-mission/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Nokia}}

A collaboration to demonstrate 4G cellular connectivity, in partnership with Nokia Bell Labs and NASA will be aboard the lander.{{Cite web |last=Bantock |first=Jack |date=2024-04-24 |title=Streaming and texting on the Moon: Nokia and NASA are taking 4G into space {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/24/tech/nokia-moon-4g-network-nasa-spc/index.html |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=CNN |language=en}} Nokia's equipment is a Network-In-a-Box and was to connect the Nova-C lander with Lunar Outpost's MAPP rover and IM's Micro-Nova Hopper. This 4G/LTE network will provide more bandwidth than the more conventional ultra high frequency (UHF) systems used for space communication. Nokia says they hope that future missions will use shared infrastructure to interlink bases on the lunar surface.{{Cite web |last=Waldek |first=Stefanie |date=2024-04-30 |title=Private moon lander will carry Nokia's 4G cell network to the lunar surface this year |url=https://www.space.com/nokia-4g-cell-network-on-the-moon |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Space.com}}

The Athena lander fell on its side when landing on 6 March 2025, but its instruments remained partially functional (albeit with a reduced downlink capacity) for a few hours before power ran out, so the mission was judged a partial failure.{{Cite news |author1=J. Wattles |title=Lying sideways on the moon, the Athena lander is declared dead |url= https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/science/intuitive-machines-athena-mission-concluded/index.html |newspaper=CNN |date=7 March 2025 |access-date=12 March 2025 |archive-date= March 8, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250308043054/https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/science/intuitive-machines-athena-mission-concluded/index.html |url-status=live}} On March 13, Intuitive Machines shared that, like on the IM-1 mission, the Athena's altimeter had failed during landing, leaving its onboard computer without an accurate altitude reading. As a result, the spacecraft struck a plateau, tipped over, and skidded across the lunar surface, rolling once or twice before settling inside the crater. The company's CEO compared it to a baseball player sliding into a base. During the slide, the spacecraft rolled once or twice, before coming to rest inside the crater. The impact also kicked up regolith that coated the solar panels in dust, further degrading their performance.{{Cite web |last=Berger |first=Eric |date=2025-03-13 |title=Athena landed in a dark crater where the temperature was minus 280° F |url=https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/athena-landed-in-a-dark-crater-where-the-temperature-was-minus-280-f/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-US}}

{{main|IM-3}}

File:CADRE ATLO Team Presents Completed Rovers.jpg

NASA selected a Nova-C mission for CLPS task order CP-11.{{cite web |url=https://science.nasa.gov/lunar-science/clps-deliveries/cp-11/ |title=NASA Payloads for (CLPS PRISM) CP-11 – Intuitive Machines Nova-C Lander |date=20 December 2022 |publisher=NASA |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=27 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227025132/https://science.nasa.gov/lunar-science/clps-deliveries/cp-11/ |url-status=live }} It will deliver payloads to the lunar swirl in the Reiner Gamma region.{{cite web |url=https://www.intuitivemachines.com/post/nasa-selects-intuitive-machines-to-deliver-4-lunar-payloads-in-2024 |title=NASA Selects Intuitive Machines to Deliver 4 Lunar Payloads in 2024 |work=Intuitive Machines |date=17 November 2021 |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003234537/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/post/nasa-selects-intuitive-machines-to-deliver-4-lunar-payloads-in-2024 |url-status=live }} In August 2021, Intuitive Machines selected SpaceX to launch its third lunar mission, IM-3.{{cite web|url=https://www.intuitivemachines.com/post/three-peat-intuitive-machines-selects-spacex-falcon-9-rocket-for-third-moon-mission|title=Three-peat: Intuitive Machines Selects SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket for Third Moon Mission|publisher=Intuitive Machines|date=10 August 2021|access-date=10 August 2021|archive-date=12 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212224827/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/post/three-peat-intuitive-machines-selects-spacex-falcon-9-rocket-for-third-moon-mission|url-status=live}} As of August 2024, the launch of IM-3 is expected to take place no earlier than October 2025.{{cite press release |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-intuitive-machines-for-new-lunar-science-delivery |title=NASA Selects Intuitive Machines for New Lunar Science Delivery |work=NASA |date=17 November 2021 |access-date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=17 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117212728/https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-intuitive-machines-for-new-lunar-science-delivery/ |url-status=live }} The lander will conduct experiments investigating the properties of the unexpected magnetic field that has been detected in the vicinity of the Reiner Gamma swirl.[https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-intuitive-machines-for-new-lunar-science-delivery/ NASA Selects Intuitive Machines for New Lunar Science Delivery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117150602/https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-intuitive-machines-for-new-lunar-science-delivery/ |date=17 November 2023 }} By Karen Fox et. al. Nov.17, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2024.

The Reiner Gamma landing site was announced for the first PRISM opportunity and the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory's Lunar Vertex payload was selected to conducted a detailed scientific analysis of the surface and surface environment. David Blewett (APL) is the principal investigator and leads the science team. Lunar Vertex includes payload elements on the Nova-C lander (APL magnetometer, SwRI plasma spectrometer, and Redwire camera arrays) and on a Lunar Outpost rover (APL magnetometer and Canadensys microscopic imager). APL also provided overall management, systems engineer, SMA, and rover integration and testing.{{Cite web |title=Lunar Vertex: Solving Mysteries Swirling Around the Moon's Magnetic Regions {{!}} Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory |url=https://www.jhuapl.edu/news/news-releases/211018b-lunar-vertex |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=www.jhuapl.edu |language=en}}

Additional IM-3 payloads include the Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Explorers (CADRE) rovers, ESA's MoonLIGHT Pointing Actuator (MPAc) and KASI's Lunar Space Environment Monitor (LUSEM).

IM-4 was announced and awarded by NASA in September 2024 for a launch in 2027.{{Cite web |title=CLPS Flight: Intuitive Machines (IM-4) - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/event/clps-flight-intuitive-machines-im-4/ |access-date=2024-09-03 |language=en-US}}

Intuitive Machines have indicated that they are working on a 'commercial' mission, named IM-C1.

The Nova-C lander was designed to be compatible with methane and oxygen fuel sources that are believed to be available on both the Moon and on Mars. For future missions, methane and oxygen could potentially be "harvested" wherever the Nova-C lander may be based using In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) (off-world resource processing technologies).{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/lox_methane_engine.html|access-date=3 March 2012|title=Innovative Partnership Tests Fuels of the Future|publisher=NASA|date=13 October 2009|archive-date=17 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917140027/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/lox_methane_engine.html|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20151002071438/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-video/9466145/Nasas-new-Mars-landing-craft-Morpheus-bursts-into-flames-on-take-off.html Nasa's new Mars landing craft Morpheus bursts into flames on take-off] The Telegraph 10 August 2012 The Nova-C lander technology platform can be scaled up to mid and large lander classes, capable of accommodating larger payloads.

In an interview with NASA recorded in October 2023, Tim Crain, CTO of Intuitive Machines, mentioned the possible development of a Nova-D lander.{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts/houston-we-have-a-podcast/im-1/ |title=IM-1, Houston We Have a Podcast |publisher=NASA |date=9 Feb 2024 |access-date=9 February 2024 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213032549/https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts/houston-we-have-a-podcast/im-1/ |url-status=live}} Early reports of the in-development Nova-D state that it will use two of the VR-900 engines and be capable of carrying more than 500 kg to the lunar surface.{{cite web |last1=Neal |first1=Mihir |last2=Kanayama |first2=Lee |title=Intuitive Machines adds third mission following first lunar landings in 2022 |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/08/intuitive-machines-im-3/ |website=NASASpaceFlight.com |date=13 August 2021 |access-date=23 February 2024 |archive-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223235833/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/08/intuitive-machines-im-3/ |url-status=live}}

In August 2024, Intuitive Machines proposed a mission to deliver NASA's VIPER rover to the Moon on a Nova-D lander no earlier than late 2027.{{cite web |last=Foust |first=Jeff |url=https://spacenews.com/intuitive-machines-seeks-to-take-over-nasas-viper-lunar-rover/ |title=Intuitive Machines seeks to take over NASA's VIPER lunar rover |work=SpaceNews |date=13 August 2024 |access-date=13 August 2024}}

Intuitive Machines is developing another lander, the Nova-M which, according to early reports, will use two VR-3500 engines originally developed for Boeing and their HLS to carry 5,000 kg to the lunar surface.

{{Portal|Spaceflight}}

;Other commercial lunar lander programs

• Blue Ghost (Firefly)
• Blue Moon (Blue Origin)
• SERIES-2 (Draper)
• Peregrine (Astrobotic)
• Starship HLS (SpaceX)
• Hakuto-R Mission 1 (ispace)

;Lunar lander programs by country

• China: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
• India: Chandrayaan Programme
• Russia: Luna-Glob
• United States: Commercial Lunar Payload Services (Artemis program)
• Japan: Japanese Lunar Exploration Program

{{notelist}}

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{{Cite web |url=https://fcc.report/IBFS/SAT-LOA-20210423-00055/6376549 |title=Application of Intuitive Machines, LLC |author=Intuitive Machines, LLC |date=23 April 2021 |publisher=FCC |access-date=22 January 2024 |archive-date=12 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212185555/https://fcc.report/IBFS/SAT-LOA-20210423-00055/6376549 |url-status=live}}

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{{Artemis program}}

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{{Orbital launches in 2024}}

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