Falcon 9 • IM-2

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Intuitive Machines’ second robotic mission to the Moon. Onboard was a Nova-C class lander named Athena or Attie, for short. It flew several commercial payloads along with two NASA science payloads as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. NASA also had its Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft launching as a rideshare payload, which was deployed separately. The Lunar Trailblazer was selected as part of NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program in 2019.