As the U.S. and China ramp up their 21st-century race to land humans on the moon, it’s easy to overlook another aspect of lunar exploration that in many respects has become a “no contest”: commercially built and operated missions.
As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, private U.S. companies have been hurling a steady stream of innovative robotic landers at the moon in unmatched numbers. And that trend is set to continue later this month with the launch of the next CLPS mission, IM-2, from the private company Intuitive Machines. Launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than February 26, IM-2 is the company’s shot at redemption after its inaugural predecessor, IM-1, tilted askew during its touchdown early last year. This time IM-2’s lander, Athena, will seek to stick its landing and ferry a robust array of science and technology experiments to the vicinity of Mons Mouton, a plateau near the lunar south pole.
Officials from NASA and Intuitive Machines confirmed the launch details and previewed the mission’s science during a press briefing on February 7.
“The IM-2 mission is particularly special..., as it is largely dedicated to lunar technology demonstrations that are truly foundational to creating a U.S.-led lunar infrastructure,” Niki Werkheiser, director for technology maturation at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, said during the briefing. These demonstrations include NASA’s PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1), which is “capable of identifying and quantifying water [ice]” and other volatile substances in lunar soil thanks to a drill that can reach up a meter into the surface. “Demonstrating that we can collect these volatiles using the tech demonstrations onboard will not only help us better understand the origins of our solar system, but they will also be useful to our future astronauts for in situ resources, including drinking water, breathing air and creating rocket fuel,” added Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, during the briefing.
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