NASA wants to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon, but right now, astronauts have to be in direct line of sight with Earth to phone home. The space agency is looking to change that with its developing Near Space Network, and it’s willing to pay potentially huge sums to private companies to help […]
Intuitive Machines wins $116.9M contract for a moon mission in 2027
Intuitive Machines, the venture-backed startup that went public last year, will send a moon lander to the lunar south pole in 2027 as part of a $ 116.9 million contract awarded by NASA on Thursday. This is NASA’s tenth award under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program; of these, four have gone to Intuitive […]
Intuitive Machines wants to help NASA return samples from Mars
Intuitive Machines is looking to help reshape the Mars Sample Return mission architecture with its own technology, based on architecture it has been developing for the moon, executives told investors during a quarterly earnings call Tuesday. “Intuitive Machines has engaged the agency and intends to provide a solution set based on technology architecture we have […]
Intuitive Machines second moon mission on track for 2024
Intuitive Machines’ second moon mission is still on track to launch before the end of this year, after the company only had to make minor adjustments to the lunar lander design, executives said during an earnings call Thursday. The company made history earlier this year when it became the first commercial company to land a […]
Intuitive Machines’ first moon lander also broke ground with safer, cheaper rocket-style propulsion
Intuitive Machines’ first lunar lander officially lost power today after spending seven days on the moon. The lander made history for being the first American hardware to reach the lunar surface since 1972 and the first privately built spacecraft to land on the moon. But the lander, called Odysseus, will be remembered for another reason: […]