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SpaceNut

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From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Robotic landers to the moon

NASA selects Intuitive Machines for robotic return to the moon in 2021

Intuitive Machines will join NASA's new era of lunar exploration with a robotic landing on the Moon in 2021, under a contract award announced by NASA on Friday. The firm, fixed-price contract for no more than $77,247,500 with an additional incentive of $2,500,000 calls for Intuitive Machines to develop, launch and land its Nova-C spacecraft on the lunar surface with a payload of NASA and private experiments. The mission will be the first under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The award places Intuitive Machines on a path to become one of the first private U.S. companies to land a spacecraft on the Moon.

"We are grateful for the tremendous privilege and honor to be awarded this contract. I have dreamed of going to the Moon since, as an 11-year-old boy, I saw Neil Armstrong's historic first step onto that new world. Today, Intuitive Machines begins a journey back to the Moon in the culmination of my boyhood dream," said Dr. Kam Ghaffarian, Executive Chairman of Intuitive Machines.

Intuitive Machines is leading an effort to develop a commercial Lunar Payload and Data Service (LPDS) which provides transit to lunar orbit, intact payload delivery to the lunar surface, and data communications and power services to assets both in lunar orbit and on the surface. The Nova C spacecraft is the backbone architecture of our service.

"All of us at Intuitive Machines have great passion for space and exploration," said Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines. "Our experience in developing autonomous systems, precision navigation, and cryogenic propulsion lends itself perfectly to the challenge of landing Nova-C on the Moon. In our first mission, we provide lunar science payload delivery and technology advancement for NASA, academia, and our strategic partner Boeing."

"Our vision is to take the challenge of this historic step with an eye toward a permanent presence on the Moon," said Dr. Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines' Lunar Architect. "We are working with Boeing to extend core Nova-C technologies of propulsion and automation to the development of large scale and human landers."

"We are very excited about this incredible opportunity to once again put the United States on the surface of the Moon," Altemus adds. "We have a strong team of brilliant minds motivated to accomplish this mission. We have worked relentlessly over the past few years and we will continue to do so until we land the Nova-C on the Moon and put boots on the ground shortly thereafter."

The lunar payload and delivery service business of Intuitive Machines encompasses small, medium and large landers as well as the development of lunar infrastructure that will pave the way for planetary missions. The 2021 Nova-C mission will have a payload capacity of 220 pounds (100 kg) and transmit scientific data back to Earth during 13.5 days of activity on the Moon's surface.

Nova-C uses a first-in-class, deep-throttling liquid oxygen/methane engine that is scalable to landers of different sizes. Intuitive Machines also is working to enable space exploration beyond the Moon with its development and implementation of space-storable cryogenic propellants.

Dr. Kam Ghaffarian, Steve Altemus, and Dr. Tim Crain founded Intuitive Machines in 2013. Intuitive Machines was born as a think tank with the objective of applying human spaceflight methodologies and principles that enable low-cost solutions while managing the highest complexity and safety levels for autonomous systems. Intuitive Machines was formed from deep practical experience in the development of large, complex space systems.

http://www.intuitivemachines.com/

Interesting moon lander...

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robotic landers to the moon

Stephen Altemus position the Deputy Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center,  another former NASA executive Tim Crain, Kamal or Kam) Ghaffarian an Iranian-born American businessman co-founder of Quantum Space which became Stormfront Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, X-energy  an American private nuclear company and Axiom Space for private spaceflights to the ISS.

Nova-C is waiting patiently to go to the Moon,

https://twitter.com/Int_Machines/status … 0363122969

Russia pinpoints cause of Luna-25 moon lander's failure

https://www.space.com/russia-luna-25-mo … ause-found

Chandrayaan-3: Isro puts India's Moon lander and rover in 'sleep mode'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-66704451

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-10-30 05:24:49)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robotic landers to the moon

After Chandrayaan-3 success, India gearing up for moon sample-return mission

https://www.space.com/india-moon-sample … ndrayaan-4

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robotic landers to the moon

India returns Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module to Earth orbit

https://spacenews.com/india-returns-cha … rth-orbit/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Robotic landers to the moon

Japan’s Lunar Lander Fails to Check-in

https://www.universetoday.com/167242/ja … -check-in/

apanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully landed its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on the lunar surface. In so doing, JAXA became the fifth national space agency to achieve a soft landing on the Moon – after NASA, the Soviet space program (Interkosmos), the European Space Agency, and the China National Space Agency (CNSA). SLIM has since experienced some technical difficulties, which included upending shortly after landing, and had to be temporarily shut down after experiencing power problems when its first lunar night began.

On the Moon, the day/night cycle lasts fourteen days at a time, which has a drastic effect on missions that rely on solar panels. Nevertheless, SLIM managed to reorient its panels and recharge itself and has survived three consecutive lunar nights since it landed.