Riding along with IM-2 is NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer satellite, managed by the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NASA’s Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission, part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis campaign, is scheduled to launch no earlier than Wednesday, February 26. The mission will lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Live coverage of the launch will be available on NASA+, with prelaunch events starting on Tuesday, February 25. Stay updated on all events at:
Following liftoff, Intuitive Machines’ Athena lunar lander will travel for approximately one week before reaching the Moon. It is expected to land no earlier than Thursday, March 6. Athena will carry NASA science experiments and technology demonstrations designed to study the Moon’s environment and support future human exploration as part of the agency’s Moon to Mars initiative.
Among the items on Intuitive Machines’ lander, the IM-2 mission will be one of the first on-site demonstrations of resource use on the Moon. A drill and mass spectrometer will measure the potential presence of volatiles or gases from lunar soil in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau in the Moon’s South Pole. In addition, a passive Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) on the top deck of the lander will bounce laser light back at any orbiting or incoming spacecraft to give future spacecraft a permanent reference point on the lunar surface. Other technology instruments on this delivery will demonstrate a robust surface communications system and deploy a propulsive drone that can hop across the lunar surface.
Launching as a rideshare with the IM-2 delivery, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft also will begin its journey to lunar orbit, where it will map the distribution of the different forms of water on the Moon.
Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):
Tuesday, February 25
11 a.m. – Lunar science and technology media teleconference with the following participants:
- Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Niki Werkheiser, director, technology maturation, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Jackie Quinn, Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (PRIME-1) project manager, NASA Kennedy
- Daniel Cremons, LRA deputy principal investigator, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
- Bethany Ehlmann, Lunar Trailblazer principal investigator, Caltech
- Trent Martin, senior vice president, space systems, Intuitive Machines
- Thierry Klein, president, Bell Labs Solution Research, Nokia
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:
Wednesday, February 26
11:30 a.m. – Lunar delivery readiness media teleconference with the following participants:
- Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Clayton Turner, associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Trent Martin, senior vice president, space systems, Intuitive Machines
- William Gerstenmaier, vice president, build and flight reliability, SpaceX
- Melody Lovin, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:
Launch coverage will begin on NASA+ approximately 45 minutes before liftoff. A specific time will be shared the week of February 24.
NASA Virtual Guests for Launch
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. Registrants will receive mission updates and activities by email, including curated mission resources, schedule updates, and a virtual guest passport stamp following a successful launch. Print your passport and get ready to add your stamp!
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Follow us on Google and Google News.