Liftoff! Intuitive Machines Lander Carrying NASA Science Begins Journey to the Moon

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission will carry NASA science and commercial payloads to the Moon to study plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies. Photo credit: Mike Chambers

At 1:05 a.m. EST SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched the Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Onboard the lander is a suite of NASA scientific instruments and technology demonstrations, as well as commercial payloads, heading to the surface of the Moon. The NASA payloads onboard the lander aim to help the agency develop capabilities needed to explore the Moon under Artemis and in advance of human missions on the lunar surface. Intuitive Machines was selected for this delivery as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign

The next major milestone will be when Nova-C separates from the rocket’s second stage, which is expected to occur in approximately 48 minutes or around 1:53 a.m. EST.