![]() ![]() The company also drummed up its own customers, including sculptor Jeff Koons, who is sending up 125-inch (317.5cm) moon figurines in a see-through cube. NASA is paying Intuitive Machines $118m to get its latest set of experiments to the moon. The space agency said its six navigation and tech experiments on the lander can help smooth the way. This area is where NASA plans to land astronauts later this decade. It hopes to operate near the moon’s south pole where Intuitive Machines is aiming for its 14-foot (4.3-m) tall, six-legged lander to touch down – a region full of treacherous craters and cliffs, yet potentially rich with frozen water. NASA, the main sponsor with experiments on board, is hoping to jumpstart the lunar economy ahead of astronaut missions. That was it for US moon landings until Astrobotic’s short-lived attempt last month. The US is the only country to have sent astronauts to the moon with Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt closing out the programme in December 1972. Only five countries – the US, Russia, China, India and Japan – have scored a lunar landing and no private business has yet done so. Landing near the Malapert A crater will help us learn more about the lunar South Pole, a big step in our #Artemis campaign. NASA science is nestled aboard Nova-C lander, set to launch to the Moon on a Falcon 9 rocket. ![]() Now let’s go make history,” said Trent Martin, vice president of space systems at Intuitive Machines. Intuitive Machines named its lander after Homer’s hero in The Odyssey. The lander resembled a six-pointed star jewel – each point a leg – as it successfully separated from the upper stage and drifted off into the black void. ![]() “There have been a lot of sleepless nights getting ready for this,” said Steve Altemus, co-founder and chief executive of Intuitive Machines. Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based aerospace company, launched mission “IM-1” a month after a rival lunar lander made by Astrobotic Technology crashed back to Earth, burning up over the Pacific 10 days after takeoff. If all goes well, a touchdown attempt is expected on February 22 after a day in lunar orbit. Keep reading list of 3 items list 1 of 3 Japan’s ‘Moon Sniper’ makes successful pinpoint landing, space agency says list 2 of 3 What explains the race among nations to reach the moon’s south pole? list 3 of 3 How did the world react to India’s ‘historic’ moon landing? end of list ![]()
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