Reviewed and corrected? The start-up Intuitive Machines is already preparing its next lunar lander for the end of 2024

The IM-1 mission and its Odysseus lander had ended up lying on their side not far from Shakleton crater, on the lunar surface last February. A mixed success for Intuitive Machines, but the start-up is already preparing the hardware for its next attempt. More importantly, she intends to correct her mistakes.

A success all the same. This is how the Intuitive Machines teams described their landing on the Moon on February 22. The Nova-C lander, called Odysseus, had suffered from repeated breakdowns, in particular with regard to the altitude measurement system, benefiting for a time from a NASA experiment fixed on its sides, which had not could not help either in the final phase of his approach. By touching the ground of the Moon with less precision than expected, the lander broke a foot, then lay on the surface in the lunar dust, on a sloping ground.

Despite everything, the vehicle was able to transmit all its data as planned, and many of the on-board experiments were able to operate for several days, so the results of this first American mission on the surface since 1972 remained quite positive. Now, Intuitive Machines is preparing IM-2, which is expected to take off by the end of 2024 or early 2025. The data has all been dissected, and Steve Altemus, the CEO and creator of Intuitive Machines, explained on May 14 different changes that are implemented on the new Nova-C model.

Changes for more confidence

First of all, the on-board software and the antennas are modified so that the vehicle’s localization and guidance precision is increased by a factor of 20… Enough to land with very precise localization! The continuity of communications should also be improved so that there are no more outages.

Then, the company worked a lot on its laser altimeter device, and on the procedures to be carried out pre-flight. Indeed, it was a safety ring that had remained in place which had prevented it from being used… Steve Altemus even specified that if this instrument had worked as planned, the lander of the IM-1 mission would have failed. installed correctly. There are other changes, especially to the software, but not all of them are made public.

What is certain, however, is that the Intuitive Machines teams don’t have time to hang around: the second vehicle will go for testing soon for takeoff next winter. Intuitive Machines has also equipped it with a small jumping robot (hopper) which will be capable of jumping up to 25 km from the landing site! And the next one, IM-3 is planned for 2025. NASA, which was also satisfied with the company’s first lunar mission, is largely financing these adventures through its CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) plan.

Small structure, big ambitions

The February mission finally gave visibility and momentum to Intuitive Machines, which remains a small structure. From now on, it is considering private lunar missions (IM-4 should be entirely commercial), it is one of those selected to produce the future American “lunar jeep” and will send a proposal to collect, on Mars, the samples taken by the rover Perseverance. Ambition and reason… But the answers will come, starting next winter!

Source : SpaceNews