NASA Contracts Intuitive Machines for 2027 Lunar South Pole Research Mission

Written by Copernical Team Friday, 30 August 2024 16:42

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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 30, 2024

NASA has awarded a $116.9 million contract to Intuitive Machines of Houston to deliver a new set of science experiments and technology demonstrations to the lunar South Pole in 2027 as part of the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The mission will involve transporting six NASA payloads to a region of the Moon characterized by extremely cold nighttime temperatures, rug

NASA Contracts Intuitive Machines for 2027 Lunar South Pole Research Mission
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 30, 2024

NASA has awarded a $116.9 million contract to Intuitive Machines of Houston to deliver a new set of science experiments and technology demonstrations to the lunar South Pole in 2027 as part of the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The mission will involve transporting six NASA payloads to a region of the Moon characterized by extremely cold nighttime temperatures, rugged terrain, and permanently shadowed areas that may offer insights into the origins of water across our solar system.

This delivery is a key component of NASA's broader Artemis program, which aims to advance scientific understanding of the Moon and support future crewed missions. The CLPS initiative focuses on enabling a consistent cadence of lunar science and technology missions.

"This marks the 10th CLPS delivery NASA has awarded, and the fourth planned for delivery to the South Pole of the Moon," commented Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration within NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "By supporting a robust cadence of CLPS flights to a variety of locations on the lunar surface, including two flights currently planned by companies for later this year, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before."

Intuitive Machines has previously been awarded four task orders by NASA, successfully delivering six payloads to the Malapert A region of the Moon's South Pole earlier in 2024. With this new mission, the company will oversee all aspects of the delivery, including payload integration, launch, landing, and subsequent mission operations.

"The instruments on this newly awarded flight will help us achieve multiple scientific objectives and strengthen our understanding of the Moon's environment," said Chris Culbert, manager of the CLPS initiative at NASA's Johnson Space Center. "For example, they'll help answer key questions about where volatiles - such as water, ice, or gas - are found on the lunar surface and measure radiation in the South Pole region, which could advance our exploration efforts on the Moon and help us with continued exploration of Mars."

The mission will carry several important instruments, collectively weighing about 174 pounds (79 kilograms):

- The Lunar Explorer Instrument for Space Biology Applications will deliver yeast to the lunar surface to study its response to radiation and lunar gravity. This payload is managed by NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California.

- The Package for Resource Observation and In-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Characterization, and Testing is a suite of instruments designed to drill up to 3.3 feet (1 meter) beneath the lunar surface to extract and analyze samples in a miniaturized laboratory. This suite is led by the European Space Agency (ESA).

- The Laser Retroreflector Array will consist of eight retroreflectors, enabling precise distance measurements between a spacecraft and the reflector on the lander. This passive optical instrument, managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, will serve as a permanent marker on the Moon.

- The Surface Exosphere Alterations by Landers experiment will examine the chemical changes in lunar regolith caused by the thermal, physical, and chemical impacts of a spacecraft landing. This investigation is also managed by NASA Goddard.

- The Fluxgate Magnetometer will study magnetic fields at the lunar surface to improve the understanding of energy and particle dynamics. This instrument is managed by NASA Goddard.

- The Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System will deploy a radiometer to investigate the Moon's surface composition, map temperature distributions, and demonstrate the instrument's potential for future lunar resource activities. This system is managed by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

As part of the Artemis campaign, these CLPS missions will contribute to NASA's long-term goal of establishing a sustained human presence on the Moon. Two additional CLPS missions planned for late 2024 will target the Moon's nearside and South Pole, including Intuitive Machines-2, which will carry NASA's first on-site drill and mass spectrometer to search for water and other compounds below the lunar surface.