Company Behind First Successful Private Lunar Lander Launches Again

At 7:16 p.m. EST, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Houston-based Intuitive Machines’ Athena—one of the firm’s Nova-C class lunar landers, like its predecessor Odyssesus that flew on 2024’s IM-1 mission—from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Intuitive Machines said the lander, carrying a suite of NASA science equipment for the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, could arrive at the moon’s south pole as soon as March 6.

With Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience also lifting off this month, there are now three lunar landers headed to the moon at the same time, which is unprecedented.

“While the most vital part of this mission lies ahead, we believe this is a signal that lunar services are rapidly advancing alongside civil and commercial intent to establish a foothold on the moon to reach further into the solar system,” said Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, in a postlaunch update.

Odysseus’ 2024 sojourn was also a CLPS mission. Intuitive Machines hailed it as a success, despite the lander tipping over after a soft landing. But Athena’s mission, IM-2, is meant to push the envelope further.

The autonomous lander will arrive at Mons Mouton—the moon’s tallest named mountain—carrying four technologies developed or funded by NASA. One of them, Intuitive Machines’ “Grace” Micro Nova hopper, will “hop” in and out of a nearby crater that is permanently shrouded in darkness, allowing researchers to explore regions untouched by humans. Another, Nokia’s Lunar Surface Communications System (LSCS), will help Athena communicate with Grace and another rover built by Lunar Outpost.

The experiments NASA conducts could unearth crucial data for the agency’s Artemis campaign, which is also targeting the lunar south pole. The Artemis III moon landing, expected to be the first since the Apollo era, is scheduled for mid-2027.

“These science and technology demonstrations are more than payloads—they represent the foundation for future explorers who will live and work on the moon,” said Janet Petro, acting NASA administrator, in a news release.

Other commercial IM-2 customers include Columbia Sportswear, which is testing material designed to shield the lander from heat, and Hungary’s Puli Space, which will send a device to scout for locations to search for water ice. NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer, designed to map the location of water on the moon, also hitched a ride on the Falcon 9 rocket that launched IM-2.

Athena reached orbit shortly after launch and according to Intuitive Machines is in “excellent health.” Soon, it will fire its main VR900 engine—which runs on liquid oxygen and liquid methane and produces about 3,100 newtons of thrust—in a planned maneuver to line up its trajectory. Lunar orbit insertion is anticipated on Monday, with touchdown on Thursday.

The landing window for Firefly’s Blue Ghost, also carrying NASA payloads, is expected to open one day before Athena’s. Resilience, meanwhile, will land in May or June.

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