NASA+ Coverage Begins for Intuitive Machines’ Second Lunar Flight 

After launching Feb. 26 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Intuitive Machines’ lander is preparing to land on the Moon at 11:30 a.m. CST at Mons Mouton near the Moon’s South Pole.  

Watch now on NASA+ or the agency’s website. Aboard the mission are a suite of NASA technology and science payloads on their way to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.  

Among the instruments on Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission is one of the first on-site demonstrations that will measure the potential presence of resources from lunar soil that could be extracted and used by future explorers to produce fuel or breathable oxygen. In addition, a passive Laser Retroreflector Array 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 technologies on this delivery will demonstrate a robust cellular network to help future astronauts communicate and deploy a propulsive drone that can hop across the lunar surface to navigate its challenging terrain. These instruments aim to help the agency develop capabilities needed to continue exploring the Moon under Artemis and in advance of human missions on the lunar surface.     

Throughout the eight-day journey to the Moon, all powered NASA science instruments have completed their transit checkouts, collected data, and are operating as expected.  

Flight controllers will continue to analyze the data collected and monitor the payloads to inform preparations for landing. The next milestone will be Powered Descent Initiation, which will to slow the lander’s speed down in preparation for final descent before touchdown. The descent milestones times below are approximate: