Watch the IM-1 lunar lander liftoff on the livestream above.
IM-1 lunar lander launches at this time
If the Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander has the best stuff, then it might be the primary American spacecraft to make a delicate touchdown on the moon’s floor since the final Apollo mission touched down in 1972.
IM-1 will experience a SpaceX Falcon 9 out of Kennedy Space Center tonight. Whereas the launch is about for 1:05 a.m. EST (05:05 UTC) on Thursday, February 15, 2024, that’s nonetheless Valentine’s Day for many of the U.S. The early morning launch can be a return to lunar service for KSC’s Launch Complex 39A, which hosted all however one of many crewed Apollo missions to the moon.
A live broadcast of the launch is on the market on the high of this web page.
Have spacecraft, will journey
Whereas IM-1 will ship a handful of NASA science payloads, will probably be carrying industrial cargo, too. Intuitive Machines says this mission would be the first of many personal payloads it’ll carry to Earth’s pure satellite:
IM-1 is a trailblazing mission aimed toward making a industrial lunar economic system, delivering industrial payloads and NASA science and expertise payloads that may pave the way in which for a sustainable human presence on and across the moon.
The Odysseus lander (or Odie) is a hexagonal cylinder about 13 toes (4 meters) tall and 5 toes (1.5 meters) extensive. The 4,200-pound (1,800-kg) automobile can carry as much as 220 kilos (110 kg) of cargo with it to the moon. IM’s contract with NASA’s Business Lunar Payload Providers (CLPS) consists of three missions total.
The lander is heading for the lunar south pole:
The lander will land on the moon at Malapert, a crater close to the south pole. If launch happens any time within the three-day window in February, the touchdown will happen on February 22. The lander is able to working for about 14 Earth days in daylight.
This mission comes only one month after one other personal firm – Astrobotic – tried to land on the moon. That mission, Peregrine, developed a gasoline leak quickly after liftoff and finally crashed again to Earth. Additionally final month, Japan’s space company landed a mission on the moon, named SLIM, nevertheless it landed the other way up.
Backside line: Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander will try the primary U.S. delicate moon touchdown since Apollo 17. Launch is at this time. Watch the livestream right here.
