Intuitive Machines

Astronaut Robert D. Cabana, mission commander, on Space Suttle orbiter Endeavour’s flight deck, logs a note regarding operations with Unity in 1998.
Photo: NASA

Robert D. “Bob” Cabana, a former NASA astronaut, NASA Associate Administrator (the agency’s third highest-ranking executive) and Director of Kennedy Space Center, has joined IBX, a firm that invests in and fosters innovation in space-related companies. Founded by engineer and entrepreneur Kam Ghaffirian, IBX supports companies Ghaffirian helped found: Axiom Space, Intuitive Machines, Quantum Space and X-energy along with other ventures. Cabana will serve as a Senior Advisor with the company.

Cabana, who flew on four Shuttle missions, as pilot on STS-41 and STS-53 and mission commander on STS-65 and STS-88, has logged 38 days in space. He is a graduate of the US Naval Academy and served in the US Marines prior to joining NASA.

“I’m truly excited to join Kam’s innovative team at IBX, supporting the continued advancement of our nation’s space program and pushing the boundaries of technology for a brighter future on Earth and beyond,” said Cabana in a press released issued today by IBX.

Axiom Space

Axiom Space has managed the flights of three groups of astronauts to the International Space Station, and has a fourth flight scheduled for later this year. They also have a contract to provide NASA with the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), a spacesuit will provide astronauts advanced capabilities to access, live and work on and around the Moon.

Liftoff of Axiom-3 on January 18, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Axiom is also currently building the first segment of a commercial space station, Axiom Station. Working with Thales Alenia Space, fabrication is well underway with a planned launch in 2026.

Axiom Station rendering.
Graphic: Axiom Space

Intuitive Machines

Intuitive Machines just completed their first lunar landing with IM-1, a NASA Commercial Lunar Payload System (CLPS) mission that was the first successful American landing on the Moon’s surface since the end of the Apollo program in 1972.

Intuitive Machines IM-1 before launching to the moon.
Photo: Intuitive Machines

That mission was partially successful in that it did complete the lunar landing, but it also had issues with its lander’s navigation system that resulted with a lander on its side near the south pole of the Moon. Intuitive has another CLPS mission scheduled for later this year using another of its Nova-C landers, and the company has said that it will incorporate lessons learned to during IM-1 into its IM-2 mission planned for sometime in Q4 2024.

Quantum Space

Quantum Space is a company that plans to provide data services beyond low-Earth orbit, in geosynchronous and cislunar space. It is creating a laser-based system that will be utilized in a modular fleet of spacecraft that will incorporate external payloads as well as data collection based on its own systems.

Rendering of Quantum Space Ranger
Graphic: Quantum Space

The QS-1 spacecraft — Ranger — launch is ostensibly scheduled for late 2024 and will include off-the-shelf processor and navigation electronics provided by Beyond Gravity, a subsidiary of RUAG. According to the company, “Ranger is powered by storable chemical propulsion and can transport rideshare payloads, from cubesats to larger OTV [Orbital Test Vehicles.]”

X-energy

X-energy is a reactor and fuel design engineering company. It is developing a Generation IV high-temperature gas-cooled pebble-bed nuclear reactor design that do not rely on active systems or power to ensure reactor safety. They are also developing a new reactor fuel called TRISO-X that can withstand four times the temperature of current nuclear fuel, but is priced similarly to those older materials.

A completed TRISO-X unit is about the size of a billiards ball, and is filled with tiny particles of enriched fuel that is triple-wrapped in a high temperature carbon ceramic material that makes the unit self-contained, meltdown-proof and mechanically resilient unit. Compared to current nuclear fuel rods, it is far safer, making it an ideal candidate for the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Based in Rockwell, Maryland, X-energy has received grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance X-energy’s reactor development program. In March 2023, X-energy and Dow Inc agreed to develop a grid-scale next-generation Xe-100 nuclear reactor at one of Dow’s sites on the Gulf Coast of the US.

Undoubtedly, Cabana’s experience and expertise will quite an asset to IBX and the companies it is invested in, and also undoubtedly, Cabana will be a busy man, given all of the activities that these companies are taking part in.

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Due to its final position on the lunar surface, Intuitive Machine’s IM-1 Nova-C “Odysseus” lander will cease operations within 24 hours. That will be two days earlier than planned. Still, IM said in an update this morning that they continue receiving data from the first American lunar lander to successfully touch down on the moon’s surface in over fifty years.

In a post on the company’s website and also on the X platform, Intuitive Machines said this morning that

IM-1 approximately 30 meters above the lunar surface.
Photo: Intuitive Machines

Flight Controllers continue to communicate with Odysseus. This morning, Odysseus efficiently sent payload science data and imagery in furtherance of the Company’s mission objectives. Flight controllers are working on final determination of battery life on the lander, which may continue up to an additional 10-20 hours.

The images included here are the closest observations of any spaceflight mission to the south pole region of the Moon. Odysseus is quite the photographer, capturing this image approximately 30 meters above the lunar surface while his main engine throttled down more than 24,000 mph. Another day of exploration on the south pole region of the Moon. (27FEB2024 0835 CST)

After the lander is in the darkness of lunar night and its batteries are exhausted, the mission will end. That endpoint was originally scheduled for sometime Thursday, February 29th, but will occur early due to the angle and final resting position of Odysseus. Because it is on its side, rather than standing vertically, the amount and strength the lander receives to provide power through its solar panels is less than optimal.

As for the final results of the experiments aboard Odysseus, we will have to wait for them to be released by NASA and Intuitive Machines.

Next CLPS Missions

While IM-1 is near its end, NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is really just getting started with planned lunar landings in support of both the Artemis program to return humans to the moon and also lunar science in general.

Firefly Aerospace

Blue Ghost M1, by Firefly Aerospace, is set to launch in the third quarter of this year aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. “Firefly is excited and ready for our Blue Ghost Mission 1,” Trina Patterson, VP of Marketing and Communications told Talk of Titusville. “We got next!”

Blue Ghost lander
image: Firefly Aerospace

The 2 x 3.5 meter spacecraft’s landing target is Mare Crisium (Latin for “Sea of Crises”) a spot that is barely visible to observers with the naked eye. It will, according to Firefly, carry “ten NASA-sponsored payloads” and is designed to last “for an entire lunar day (about 14 Earth days), and well into the freezing lunar night.”

Mare Crisium on the lunar surface.

Intuitive Machines IM-2

In the fourth quarter of this year, Intuitive Machines will try again with IM-2, its second Nova-C lander. It will land in the southern polar region of the moon, this time carrying a drill (PRIME-1) combined with a mass spectrometer, to attempt harvesting ice from below the surface among other experiments. Like IM-1 and Firefly’s Blue Ghost M1, IM-2 is planned to fly aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on its initial journey to space.

Astrobotics, the Pennsylvania company that built the Peregrine lander that failed to reach the moon earlier this year, has its VIPER lander slated to head towards the lunar South Pole region later this year as well.

2025 will also see multiple CLPS missions to the lunar surface. Intuitive Machines, Firefly and Draper Laboratories all have missions penciled in for next year.

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While Intuitive Machines soft-landing on the moon yesterday was successful, and the first by an American spacecraft in over fifty years, the news today is not all good: the company thinks that Odysseus, the company’s lunar lander is highly tilted or perhaps on its side.

In a NASA-hosted press conference late this afternoon, Intuitive Machines CEO and co-founder, Steve Altemus said that “We think we came down about 6 miles an hour [downwards towards the surface] and about 2 miles an hour [sideways] and caught a foot in the surface. And the lander has tipped [horizontally.] We believe this is the orientation of the lander on the moon.”

As he spoke, Altemus also showed a model of the lander in the orientation he believes that it is in:

Intuitive Machines Steve Altemus illustrating the orientation that mission controllers and engineers believe their lander is in on the lunar surface.
Screencapture of NASA news conference from April 23, 2024

As to yesterday’s statement that Odysseus had landed in an upright condition, Altemus said “We thought we were upright. The reason was that the tanks were reading, [in] the X direction. And the tanks were reading, gravity on the moon, that the fill levels, [that] there were still residuals in the tank.”

He went on further to say yesterday’s announcement from IM that Odysseus was upright was incorrect after new data arrived and further review. “That was stale telemetry,” Altemus said. “When we worked through the night to get other telemetry [data] down, we noticed that in the Z-direction is where we’re seeing residual tank quantities. And so that’s what tells us, with fairly certain terms, the orientation of the vehicle.”

Intuitive Machines Steve Altemus at today’s press conference.
Screencapture from NASA livestream

In short, new information and further assessment led Intuitive’s engineers to change their assessment of the lander’s final position. That assessment could change further as new data becomes available.

“My theory is just a theory,” Altemus said. He added that analysis of data will continue, and that photographs will be taken to help clarify the final result.

Science Experiments Are Actively Collecting Data

Altemus added that not all is lost, and that the IM-1 mission is continuing. “The majority of our payloads are all in view, and we are collecting science,” he said.

He illustrated his point further later in the press conference. “Fortunately, for most [experiments aboard Odysseus] of the payloads exposed to the outside, above the surface.”

On its side, of course, one panel has to be downwards close to the lunar surface. “That panel has a single payload on it, and it’s not an operational payload. It’s a static payload and we’re going to try to take a picture of that payload if we can.” Altemus continued by adding that it is believed that the panel holds the artwork payload, the Moon Phases Pace Verso / 4Space / NFMoon Sculpture created by artist Jeff Koons.

From a science standpoint, this may be the best possible outcome, allowing active experiments to continue gather data given the position Odysseus is now resting in. Odysseus’ surface operations are expected to take place through Thursday, February 29th, after which the landing site will be in lunar night and without any power from solar panels. With no power, the spacecraft cannot continue operations.

Still Working On Photos

As to photos, Altemus said that “Now that we’re on the Goonhilly dish in the United Kingdom, we’re downloading data from the buffers in the spacecraft trying to get you surface photos because I know that everyone’s hungry for those surface photos.”

Landing Still A Success, But Not An Unqualified Success

At the end of the day, given the novel territory that Intuitive Machines was operating in — this was their first foray to the lunar surface — it is fair to say that while they succeeded in landing their spacecraft safely, it did not land in an optimal position. It is also fair to say that many of the science objectives can probably still be met before the mission concludes, but like the lander, they too may not achieve all of their objectives.

At the end of the day, Intuitive Machines, NASA and scientists operating the experiments aboard Odysseus will learn a great deal. That knowledge will inform future missions and add to their chances of complete success.

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Odysseus passes over the near side of the Moon following lunar orbit insertion on 21FEB2024. The lander continues to be in excellent health in lunar orbit.

Intuitive Machines has confirmed that the IM-1 Nova-C class lunar lander “Odysseus” touched down on the surface of the Moon today, sometime around 6:30 PM EST. The exact time of touchdown is not yet known, as the company has not yet downloaded and released data from the spacecraft.

The last lunar landing for an American spacecraft on the Moon was December 11th 1972. That was 51 years, 1 months and 26 days ago, which is 18,684 days. Today, Intuitive Machines and Odysseus ended that long gap.

Troubles On The Way Down

The landing was not without its issues, and some of those issues remain to be rectified at the time of this writing. First, there were LASER issues that forced a software patch and rerouting of signals for the autonomous landing system. Those were completed in the last two hours of lunar orbit, and according to live commentary from NASA-TV, the fix worked satisfactorily during the final descent to the surface.

Then after the expected landing time, a longer period of uncertainty than expected about Odysseus’s fate occurred because of what was an initial loss of radio communications between the lander and mission control in Houston.

Intuitive Machines infographic describing the landing sequence of Nova-C Odysseus
Graphic courtesy Intuitive Machines

Uncertainty After Landing

Flight controllers reassessed the last data they received from Odysseus, and found an unexpected 8-degree roll from the spacecraft, leading many viewers to fear the worst. IM engineers and flight controllers continued working the problem, and at one point, Intuitive Machines CTO Tim Crain announced “”We’re not dead yet!”

Not long afterwards, Crain gave some welcome news when he said, “We do have signal that we’re tracking.” That meant that Odysseus was on the lunar surface and that it was transmitting, a good sign that the landing was successful enough for the spacecraft to attempt to communicate with Earth. Crain added moments later “We have a signal from our high-gain antenna. It’s faint but it’s there.”

Then, after what must have seemed like an eternity to Intuitive Machines employees, Crain clarified by saying “We can confirm without a doubt that we are on the surface of the moon and that we are transmitting.”

Screen capture of NASA’s live stream showing Intuitive Machines employees celebrating the landing.

Finally, the announcement everyone was waiting for: “Houston, Odysseus has found his new home.”

At 8:25 PM EST, Intuitive Machines released the news everyone who had lingering doubts was waiting to hear:

“After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data. Right now, we are working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface.”

Intuitive Machines on X, February 22, 2024

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson commented after the landing that “Today, for the first time in half a century, America has returned to the Moon. On the eighth day of a quarter-million-mile voyage, Intuitive Machines aced the landing of a lifetime. What a feat for IM, SpaceX and NASA.

“What a triumph for humanity.

“Odysseus has taken the Moon.”

Indeed.

What’s Up Next?

IM and its team will no doubt be working diligently to assess Odysseus’s health and begin the slate of experiments planned for the mission.

After that, hopefully we will see photographs and video from Odysseus, including the Embry-Riddle EagleCam, which was ejected from the descending lander and providing the first-ever third-party view of an extraterrestrial spacecraft landing.

It’s more than fair to say that the work is just beginning and that NASA, the Artemis Project, all of the students and researchers involved and those of us interested parties in the general will all be learning a great deal over the next few days.

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The Moon, as seen from Kennedy Space Center, the launch site of Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 Nova-C lander “Odysseus.”
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

NASA and Intuitive Machines are planning to land the IM-1 Nova-C lunar lander “Odysseus” on the moon’s surface tomorrow, and so far, everything is going well for the mission.

IM has been remarkably transparent and informative throughout the duration of the mission so far, and have been issuing daily updates on the vehicle status and their activities as Odysseus travels cislunar space.

Mission Status on February 21: In Orbit Around The Moon

IM issued a late update with a new landing time late this afternoon:

Flight controllers analyzed the post-Lunar Orbit Insertion engine burn data and updated the anticipated flight maneuver timing, including an expected 1630 CST landing opportunity on Thursday. The landing opportunity will be Odysseus’ hardest challenge yet. The lander continues to be in excellent health, orbiting approximately 92 km above the lunar surface. (21FEB2024 1645 CST)

Intuitive Machines on X, February 21, 2024

IM has issed on update at 09:20 AM CST (10:20 local time):

Odysseus completed its scheduled 408-second main engine lunar orbit insertion burn and is currently in a 92 km circular lunar orbit. Initial data indicates the 800 m/s burn was completed within 2 m/s accuracy.

After traveling over 1,000,000 km, Odysseus is now closer to the Moon than the end-to-end distance driving across Space City, Houston, TX.

Over the next day, while the lander remains in lunar orbit, flight controllers will analyze the complete flight data and transmit imagery of the Moon.

Odysseus continues to be in excellent health.

Intuitive Machines on X, February 21, 2024

Yesterday, IM issued an update at 4:00 PM CST (5:00 PM local time):

Intuitive Machines flight controllers commanded the IM-1 mission’s second planned Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM) with enough precision to eliminate the need for the initially planned third TCM engine firing.

Today’s TCM fired at 1400 CST for 8 seconds, and it is the final maneuver before Odysseus’ largest challenge to date, Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI), scheduled for February 21, 2024. Odysseus continues to be in excellent health and is approximately 68,000 km from the Moon. Over the next several hours, flight controllers will continue to analyze the flight data ahead of LOI.

Intuitive Machines on X, February 20, 2024

Once the spacecraft achieves lunar orbit, mission controllers can begin final preparations for the landing attempt. That landing is currently scheduled for no earlier than 5:49 PM EST.

Landing Zone

The landing site selected for this mission is Malapert A, a satellite crater to Malapert, a 69 km crater in the Moon’s south pole region. Named after Charles Malapert, a 17th-century Belgian astronomer, the area around the landing site is believed to be made of lunar highland material, similar to Apollo 16’s landing site in the Descartes Highlands.

Oblique image showing the IM-1 landing area, acquired from an altitude of 78 kilometers with a slew angle of 64° on 2023-04-02. North is to the right, 57 kilometers wide at the center, LROC NAC M1435077792LR Photo: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Experiments Aboard

NASA said that “the Lunar Node-1 experiment, or LN-1, is a radio beacon designed to support precise geolocation and navigation observations for landers, surface infrastructure, and astronauts, digitally confirming their positions on the Moon relative to other craft, ground stations, or rovers on the move. These radio beacons also can be used in space to help with orbital maneuvers and with guiding landers to a successful touchdown on the lunar surface.”

Odysseus will then have seven days to complete experiments on the lunar surface before the lunar night sets on the south pole of the Moon, rendering the spacecraft inoperable.

Utility of Lunar Node-1

“Imagine getting verification from a lighthouse on the shore you’re approaching, rather than waiting on word from the home port you left days earlier,” said Evan Anzalone, principal investigator of LN-1 and a navigation systems engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “What we seek to deliver is a lunar network of lighthouses, offering sustainable, localized navigation assets that enable lunar craft and ground crews to quickly and accurately confirm their position instead of relying on Earth.”

Landing Coverage

Live landing coverage will air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning around an hour before the anticipated landing attempt.

Upon successful landing, Intuitive Machines and NASA will host a news conference to discuss the mission and science opportunities ahead as the company begins lunar surface operations.

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Timelapse of the flight path of Falcon 9 carrying NASA CLPS / Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander to orbit on February 15, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

A rarity is becoming commonplace lately here on the Space Coast, as SpaceX successfully launched two Falcon 9 rockets within eight hours of each other from the Eastern Range, returning both safely to the ground at the company’s Cape Canaveral landing zones.

First up was USSF-124, carrying a military payload for the US Space Force, and the second was Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 NASA CLPS mission to the moon.

USSF-124 launches aboard Falcon 9 on February 14, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

NASA CLPS / Intuitive Machines IM-1

At 1:05 AM EST, SpaceX launched NASA CLPS payload to orbit from launch pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center l aboard a Falcon 9. Approximately eight and one-half minutes later, the first stage touched down safely at Landing Zone 1 at CCSFS, approximately 8.8 miles from where it had launched minutes earlier.

 After safely reaching orbit, the Intuitive Machines ‘Odysseus’ lander deployed from the Falcon 9 second stage, completing SpaceX’s part of the mission. Shortly afterward, IM confirmed Odysseus had contacted the company’s mission operations center in Houston and that the spacecraft was stable and receiving solar power.

NASA Administrator Statement

Odysseus will make a nine-day journey to the Moon, after which is will attempt to be the first successful American soft-landing on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972. In a press release on February 15, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “NASA scientific instruments are on their way to the Moon – a giant leap for humanity as we prepare to return to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century,”

He added, “These daring Moon deliveries will not only conduct new science at the Moon, but they are supporting a growing commercial space economy while showing the strength of American technology and innovation. We have so much to learn through CLPS flights that will help us shape the future of human exploration for the Artemis Generation.”

As part of Project Artemis, in May 2019, the agency awarded a task order for scientific payload delivery to Intuitive Machines to build and fly Odysseus and IM-1. The spacecraft will “Demonstrate autonomous navigation,” according to a press release from NASA.

Odysseus’s Destination

The landing site selected for this mission is Malapert A, a satellite crater to Malapert, a 69 km crater in the Moon’s south pole region. Named after Charles Malapert, a 17th-century Belgian astronomer, the area around the landing site is believed to be made of lunar highland material, similar to Apollo 16’s landing site in the in the Descartes Highlands.

The Malapert and Shackleton regions on the lunar surface as captured by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Photo: NASA

Experiments Aboard Odysseus

NASA said that “the Lunar Node-1 experiment, or LN-1, is a radio beacon designed to support precise geolocation and navigation observations for landers, surface infrastructure, and astronauts, digitally confirming their positions on the Moon relative to other craft, ground stations, or rovers on the move. These radio beacons can also be used in space to help with orbital maneuvers and guide landers to a successful touchdown on the lunar surface.”

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IM-1 Nova-C Completed Assembly
Photo: Intuitive Machines

At roughly 11:00 PM EST Wednesday evening, some two hours before the planned liftoff, the countdown was halted on SpaceX’s planned Falcon 9 launch of Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 Mission to carry their Nova-C lander ‘Odysseus’ to orbit and on its way to the Moon. Launch had been planned for 12:57 AM EST on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.

In a post on the X platform, SpaceX stated that the reason for the delay was “due to off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load.” Presumably that methane load was for the Nova-C lander, as Falcon 9 relies on RP-1 and liquid oxygen as its propellants and does not use methane in its operations.

SpaceX added that the next available opportunity for this launch is Thursday, February 15th at 1:05 AM EST.

Standing down from tonight’s attempt due to off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load. Now targeting Thursday, February 15 at 1:05 a.m. ET for Falcon 9’s launch of the @Int_Machines IM-1 mission from Florida.

SpaceX, February 13, 2024, 11:35 PM EST

NASA CLPS Second Mission

The launch will be the second for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payloads Services program. The first was Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine lunar lander which flew on the maiden launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket — it was launched successfully, but experienced propulsion system issues and was not able to attempt a landing. It instead re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean and burned up after completing as many experiments as possible during its ill-fated journey.

NASA, Intuitive Machines will of course be hoping for a different outcome on this mission.

More About IM-1

Read Talk of Titusville’s IM-1 preview here: Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 Lunar Lander Set For Launch.

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IM-1, the first NASA Commercial Launch Program Services launch for Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander, will carry multiple payloads to the Moon, including Lunar Node-1, demonstrating autonomous navigation via radio beacon to support precise geolocation and navigation among lunar orbiters, landers, and surface personnel. NASA’s CLPS initiative oversees industry development of small robotic landers and rovers to support NASA’s Artemis campaign.
Photo: NASA / Intuitive Machines

Shortly after midnight this Wednesday, the next NASA CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) lunar lander is set to begin its trip to the moon’s surface aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. Launch time is scheduled for 12:57 AM EST, from Pad LC-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The lander was built by Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based company, and is named “Odysseus.” The mission designation is IM-1. Assuming a successful flight to orbit and post-launch vehicle checkouts, IM-1 will undertake a nine-day trip to the moon, where it will then attempt to be the first successful American soft-landing on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972.

As part of Project Artemis, in May 2019, the agency awarded a task order for scientific payload delivery to Intuitive Machines to build and fly Odysseus and IM-1. The spacecraft will “Demonstrate autonomous navigation,” according to a press release from NASA.

Malapert massif (informal name) is thought to be a remnant of the South Pole – Aitken basin rim, which formed more than 4 billion years ago.  More recently, this magnificent peak (lower left) was selected as an Artemis 3 candidate landing region. Image is 25 kilometers wide in the center, Narrow Angle Camera M1432398306LR
Photo: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

The landing site selected for this mission is Malapert A, a satellite crater to Malapert, a 69 km crater in the Moon’s south pole region. Named after Charles Malapert, a 17th-century Belgian astronomer, the area around the landing site is believed to be made of lunar highland material, similar to Apollo 16’s landing site in the in the Descartes Highlands.

Experiments Aboard

NASA said that “the Lunar Node-1 experiment, or LN-1, is a radio beacon designed to support precise geolocation and navigation observations for landers, surface infrastructure, and astronauts, digitally confirming their positions on the Moon relative to other craft, ground stations, or rovers on the move. These radio beacons also can be used in space to help with orbital maneuvers and with guiding landers to a successful touchdown on the lunar surface.”

Odysseus will then have seven days to complete experiments on the lunar surface before the lunar night sets on the south pole of the Moon, rendering the spacecraft inoperable.

Utility of Lunar Node-1

“Imagine getting verification from a lighthouse on the shore you’re approaching, rather than waiting on word from the home port you left days earlier,” said Evan Anzalone, principal investigator of LN-1 and a navigation systems engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “What we seek to deliver is a lunar network of lighthouses, offering sustainable, localized navigation assets that enable lunar craft and ground crews to quickly and accurately confirm their position instead of relying on Earth.”

Intuitive Machines Leadership

Intuitive Machines was founded by CEO Steve Altemus in 2013, along with CTO Tim Crain, Stephen Altemus, and Kam Ghaffarian (a cofounder of Axiom Space) and is a publicly traded company.

Altemus is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach and holds an M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida. He is also a former Shuttle program employee working in operations, launch, and landing activities prior to leaving to Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston where he served as a Deputy Director of Engineering.

Ghaffarian holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science and Electronics Engineering, an M.Sc. in Information Management, and a PhD in Management Information Systems. He has worked for Lockheed Martin on various NASA contracts, Loral Space, and as an entrepreneur, Ghaffarian co-founded Axiom Space, IBX, X-energy, and Quantum Space in addition to Intuitive Machines. He is also a philanthropist promoting STEM education.

Crain holds a Bachelor’s, M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace engineering, and like Altemus is a NASA employee where he worked as an aerospace engineer, a strategic advisor and as the Guidance, Navigation and Control Lead for the Morpheus Vertical Test Bed, a prototype planetary lander capable of vertical takeoff and landing.

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