IM-1
IM-1 was a lunar mission that was carried out jointly by a partnership between the NASA CLPS program and Intuitive Machines (IM), using an Nova-C lunar lander. IM named their lunar lander as its Odysseus lander. The Odysseus lander was the first commercial lunar lander to have successfully soft-landed on the Moon.
Nova-C Class IM-1 Odysseus in preparation for launch | |
| Names | IM-1 TO2-IM CLPS-2 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Lunar landing |
| Operator | Intuitive Machines |
| COSPAR ID | 2024-030A |
| SATCAT no. | 58963 |
| Mission duration | 37 days and 9 hours |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Odysseus |
| Spacecraft type | Nova-C |
| Manufacturer | Intuitive Machines |
| Launch mass | 1,900 kilograms (4,200 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | February 15, 2024, 06:05:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1060.18) |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39A |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | February 29, 2024 |
| Lunar lander | |
| Landing date | February 22, 2024, 23:23:00 UTC |
| Landing site | Malapert A 80.13°S 1.44°E |
IM-1 mission insignia Motto: ADTIGO PLANITIA LUNAE (I touch the plains of the Moon) (Stick The Landing) | |
After contact with the lunar surface the lander tipped to an unplanned 30 degree angle. All instrument payloads remained functional and the mission was deemed successful. Data from the lander is being reviewed as of March 2024, and Intuitive Machines has said that there is a potential for additional data gathering by the Odysseus lander during future lunar days.
Odysseus's "rough" soft Moon landing is the first soft lunar landing of any kind for an American-made spacecraft since Apollo 17 in 1972. It is the first soft lunar landing by a private company. It is the first liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox)-powered spacecraft to fire beyond low-earth orbit, and it is also the first methalox spacecraft to land on an off-world celestial body. Odysseus carried six payloads developed by NASA in addition to others from commercial and educational customers.