NASA’s CLPS Flight: Intuitive Machines IM-2
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Join NASA to participate online in the launch of Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission, part of NASA’s CLPS initiative.
The Intuitive Machines Nova-C class lunar lander named Athena will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and carry NASA science, technology demonstrations, and other commercial payloads to Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s South Pole.
Liftoff of the IM-2 lunar mission is targeted for a four-day launch window, opening no earlier than February 26, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Among the items on Intuitive Machines’ lander, the IM-2 mission will be one of the first on site, or in-situ, demonstrations of resource utilization 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 near the Moon’s South Pole.
Additionally, the passive Laser Retroreflector Array on the lander’s top deck 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 on the mission, 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.
For more information about the agency’s CLPS initiative, see: https://www.nasa.gov/clps
There is no physical ticket for online participation nor access to on-center activities. Register to participate from your spot in the universe! All resources, participation, and registration are FREE.