Amidst the escalating competition between the U.S. and China to send astronauts to the moon, a parallel narrative unfolds, dominated by the U.S.: the deployment of commercially developed and operated lunar missions.

Through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, American private enterprises have been launching a continuous stream of innovative robotic landers toward the moon, a trend that shows no signs of slowing. The upcoming CLPS mission, dubbed IM-2, is scheduled to launch later this month by Intuitive Machines. Set for a liftoff at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, no earlier than February 26, IM-2 represents a crucial second chance for the company following the skewed landing of its first mission, IM-1, early last year. This mission will attempt a precise landing of its Athena lander near the lunar south pole’s Mons Mouton, carrying a significant payload of science and technology experiments.

NASA and Intuitive Machines officials provided these details and discussed the scientific goals of the mission during a press briefing on February 7.

Support for Science Journalism

If you appreciate this content, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. Your subscription helps secure the future of in-depth stories that shape our understanding of our world and its intricacies.

“The IM-2 mission is quite extraordinary,” remarked Niki Werkheiser, director for technology maturation at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, during the briefing. “It primarily focuses on demonstrations of lunar technology that are essential for building a U.S.-led lunar infrastructure.” These include NASA’s PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1), a drill capable of penetrating a meter deep into the lunar surface to detect and measure water ice and other volatiles. “These demonstrations will not only deepen our understanding of our solar system’s origins but will also support future astronauts with vital resources such as water, breathable air, and even rocket fuel,” added Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

Athena also carries innovative technologies like the Micro Nova Hopper and the Lunar Surface Communication System (LSCS), developed by Intuitive Machines and Nokia Bell Labs, respectively. Part of NASA’s Tipping Point technology program, the hopper, nicknamed “Gracie” after computing pioneer Grace Hopper, is designed to perform a series of short jumps away from Athena post-landing, making its way to Crater H—a small, permanently shadowed crater about half a kilometer away—to search for signs of volatiles.

“The purpose of this [hopper] demonstration is to explore extreme environments using technologies beyond traditional rovers,” explained Trent Martin, senior vice president of space systems at Intuitive Machines, during the briefing. Nokia’s LSCS, utilizing standard 4G LTE technology, will ensure that all of Athena’s payloads remain connected as they pursue their varied objectives. “We are equipped to manage the substantial number of payloads this mission carries, coordinating operations globally from various control centers,” Martin elaborated.

Moreover, Athena is set to extend the legacy of previous and ongoing missions. It carries a small, NASA-supplied aluminum device known as the Laser Retroreflective Array, or LRA, which NASA plans to use as part of a larger system to improve the precision in locating key lunar landers. Athena is also sharing its journey with several secondary payloads, notably NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer, a satellite designed to orbit the moon and map potential water sources with high-resolution imaging.

In addition to outlining the mission’s scientific aspects, officials reassured attendees that Athena has been extensively tested to avoid the issues that compromised its predecessor, the IM-1 lander, nicknamed Odysseus. During its landing on February 22 of the previous year, Odysseus landed at an angle, damaging its structure. Despite prelaunch corrections claimed by Intuitive Machines, the lander was unable to recover from the mishap.

“Following the mission, we conducted a thorough review known as a ‘hot wash,’” Martin detailed at the briefing. “We identified 85 areas for improvement—10 of which were critical to address before the IM-2 mission. We have implemented all 85 corrections.” Athena has been designed to tolerate a landing deviation of up to 10 degrees. Should the trajectory deviate further, the functionality will depend on the landing’s outcome. “If things go awry and Athena ends up on its side, like last time, we won’t be able to deploy drills,” Martin admitted. “However, we can still operate many instruments, as demonstrated by the data retrieved from Odysseus, which we successfully transmitted back to Earth.”

“With Athena, we’re transforming cutting-edge technologies into standardized capabilities,” Werkheiser emphasized. Given the technology-heavy focus of the IM-2 mission, occasional glitches are somewhat expected. “Learning from any failures is key. If we can glean the lessons we need from these experiences, then we consider that a success,” she concluded.