Nova-C – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launches Intuitive Machines’ 2nd Moon lander, 3 rideshare spacecraft

February 25, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The launch is a rideshare mission with secondary payloads from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, AstroForge and Epic Aerospace. Liftoff happened Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7:16 p.m. EST (0016 UTC).

Intuitive Machines’ ‘Odysseus’ becomes first commercial lander to reach the Moon

February 22, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The IM-1 mission marked the first non-governmental lander to safely reach the Moon in history. The Nova-C lander named Odysseus landed at about 6:23 p.m. EST (2323 UTC).

Intuitive Machines’ Moon lander Odysseus reaches lunar orbit

February 21, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The spacecraft launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 15. It arrived in a 92 km circular orbit less than a week later.

Three robotic missions target Moon landings over one week in January

December 6, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

In a blend of interesting circumstances and happenstance, two private companies and Japan’s space agency are all poised to land on the Moon in the back half of January 2024.

Intuitive Machines targets launch to the Moon in mid-January

October 27, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The first lunar lander aiming for a touchdown at the Moon’s south pole has a new launch date. Intuitive Machines said Friday it is targeting the launch of its Nova-C lander on the IM-1 mission for no earlier than January 12, 2024.

Intuitive Machines announces moon mission’s launch date, landing site

April 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Intuitive Machines, under contract to carry NASA science instruments to the moon on a privately-developed robotic spacecraft, said this week its first commercial lunar mission will target landing in October 2021 near a deep, narrow valley named Vallis Schröteri.

Intuitive Machines selects SpaceX to launch commercial lunar lander

October 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

Intuitive Machines confirmed plans Wednesday to launch a commercial lunar lander aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Space Coast in 2021 on a mission to deliver multiple payloads to the moon, including up to five science instruments for NASA.

NASA picks three companies to send commercial landers to the moon

June 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA has announced that Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and OrbitBeyond won contracts to deliver science instruments and technology demonstration payloads to the moon’s surface in the first of a series of robotic missions preceding a human return to the moon.