Intuitive Machines Nova-C facts for kids

This page is about a class of lunar landers. For a series of NASA rocket designs, see Nova (rocket).

Quick facts for kids
*Nova-C* lunar lander
Specifications
Odysseus in preparation for launch

Manufacturer	Intuitive Machines
Designer	Intuitive Machines
Country of origin	United States
Operator	Intuitive Machines
Applications	Lunar payload delivery and support


Spacecraft type	Lunar lander
Bus	Nova-C bus
Design life	14 days after landing
Launch mass	1,900 kg (4,200 lb)
Payload capacity	100 kg (220 lb)
Power	200 W (0.27 hp)

Dimensions
Length	3 m (9.8 ft)
Diameter	2 m (6 ft 7 in)

Production
Status	In production
Built	2
On order	4
Launched	2
Retired	2
Maiden launch	11:23, July 31, 2025 (ET) (Purge) (15 February 2024, 06:05 UTC)


Related spacecraft
Derived from	Project Morpheus

Additional flight information
Launch vehicle	Falcon 9 Block 5
Avg. cost per spacecraft	$118 million US
Proximate missions
Last mission	IM-2
Last mission launch date	27 February 2025
Next mission	IM-3
Next mission launch date	October 2025 (or after)

The Intuitive Machines Nova-C, or simply Nova-C, is a type of lunar lander. It was designed by a company called Intuitive Machines (IM). These landers are built to carry small science tools and other items, called payloads, to the Moon's surface. Intuitive Machines was one of the first companies chosen by NASA in 2019 to deliver science payloads to the Moon.

The first Nova-C lander, named Odysseus, launched on February 15, 2024. It reached the Moon's orbit on February 21 and landed on February 22. This was the first time a Nova-C lander successfully landed on the Moon. It was also the first time an American spacecraft made a soft landing on the Moon in over 50 years. Odysseus was also the first spacecraft to use a special fuel mix called methalox to travel between Earth and the Moon.

The second Nova-C lander, part of the IM-2 Athena mission, launched on February 27, 2025. It carried a small hopping robot called Micro-Nova Gracie and other important equipment. A third Nova-C lander for the IM-3 mission is planned for October 2025 or later. SpaceX provides the Falcon 9 rockets for all these missions.

Funding Lunar Missions
How Nova-C Works
Nova-C Missions
Future Nova-C Missions
Next Generation Landers
- Nova-D
- Nova-M
See also

Funding Lunar Missions

In 2017, the US government decided that NASA astronauts should return to the Moon. Documents from NASA showed that the agency wanted private space companies to help with this goal.

In 2018, NASA asked nine companies, including Intuitive Machines, to bid on a program called Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS). This program is part of NASA's Artemis program. One of the big goals of Artemis is to build a permanent base with people living on the Moon. Intuitive Machines was one of three companies chosen in 2019 to deliver NASA science tools to the Moon.

In 2021, Intuitive Machines received a contract from NASA worth $77 million to land things on the Moon for them. After some changes, the total value of this contract grew to $118 million by 2024.

How Nova-C Works

Lander Structure

The Nova-C lander looks like a hexagonal (six-sided) cylinder. It has six landing legs and stands about 3.938 meters (about 13 feet) tall. When it launches, it weighs about 1908 kilograms (around 4,200 pounds). It can carry up to 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) of equipment.

Engine Power

A model of the Nova-C lander on display

Intuitive Machines developed Nova-C using ideas from NASA's Project Morpheus. Its main engine, called VR900, can move from side to side, which helps steer the lander. This engine uses liquid methane and oxygen as fuel. Helium gas pushes the fuel into the engine, which creates 3100 Newtons of thrust (a strong pushing force).

For smaller movements and to control its direction, the lander uses a helium reaction control system (RCS). Each small thruster in the RCS produces 4.45 Newtons of thrust.

When it launches, Nova-C is filled with 845 kilograms of liquid oxygen, 422 kilograms of liquid methane, and 17 kilograms of helium gas. These fuels are loaded onto the lander at the launch pad, just like the rocket's fuel. Using liquid methane and oxygen is important for future missions far into space. The lander stores these super-cold fuels in special tanks.

Electric Power

Nova-C landers use solar panels to get electricity. Most parts of the Moon's surface get sunlight during the lunar day, which lasts about 14 Earth days.

Three solar panels (one on top and two on the sides) generate up to 200 watts of power on the Moon. A battery stores power for the spacecraft when the solar panels aren't making enough electricity.

Staying in Touch

Nova-C can send and receive data 24 hours a day for the equipment it carries.

Landing Safely

The lander is designed to stay upright even if it lands on a slope up to 10 degrees. It has smart technology to find safe landing spots and avoid dangers. After landing, it can even take off again, fly to a new spot, and land vertically if needed.

Nova-C Missions

Intuitive Machines is flying the first three Nova-C missions for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. These landers are designed to deliver small science and technology tools.

IM-1 (Odysseus)

The first Nova-C lander was named Odysseus. The mission contract was signed in 2021. Odysseus launched on February 15, 2024, on a Falcon 9 rocket. It made a "rough" but soft landing on February 22, 2024. It landed in the Moon's South Pole region, inside a shallow crater with a 12-degree slope. The lander ended up about 1.5 kilometers away from its planned landing spot.

When Odysseus first touched the Moon, one of its legs broke. It bounced back up, and its engines fired to slow it down. After landing upright, it slowly tipped over. It came to rest at about a 30-degree angle. One of its solar panels was angled about 18 degrees from the Moon's surface. Intuitive Machines announced that Odysseus sent over 350 megabytes of science and engineering data before it went into standby mode on February 29, 2024. The company tried to wake Odysseus up during the next lunar day, but it did not respond. On March 23, Intuitive Machines announced that the mission had ended.

The soft landing of Odysseus was the first time an American spacecraft had landed softly on the Moon since Apollo 17, more than 50 years ago. It was also the first soft landing by a private company. This mission also made Odysseus the first spacecraft powered by liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox) to fire its engines beyond Earth's orbit. It was also the first methalox spacecraft to land on another celestial body.

After landing, Odysseus was resting on the surface at a 30-degree angle. Intuitive Machines confirmed that one of the landing legs broke. The lander was resting on a helium tank or a computer shelf. Even though its antennas were not perfectly aligned, Odysseus was in good health and sent back both science and engineering data.

Odysseus landed in the middle of a lunar day. It was expected to work for about six Earth days, until February 27, when the cold lunar night began. The solar panels could no longer provide power then. Engineers hoped to keep communicating with Odysseus for another 10 to 20 hours using its battery. Odysseus successfully sent back science data and images.

IM-2 (Athena)

Intuitive Machines was chosen in October 2020 to land its second Nova-C lander near the lunar south pole. IM-2 Athena launched on February 27, 2025. In May 2024, the company said IM-2 was in its final assembly stage. Its main payload, PRIME-1, included a drill called TRIDENT to find ice below the Moon's surface. It also had a tool called MSolo to measure the amount of ice.

The μNova (Micro-Nova) Hopper was designed to separate from the Nova-C lander after landing. It would then hop around to explore hard-to-reach areas, like deep craters on the Moon.

A special tool called MiniPIX TPX3 SPACE was also on board. It was made by a Czech company. This tool was designed to check the radiation levels on the Moon. This helps scientists understand how to protect astronauts and equipment from harmful cosmic rays. This was the first Czech payload planned for the Moon's surface.

Another company, Lunar Outpost, sent its first lunar rover, MAPP (Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform), on this mission. MAPP was supposed to collect Moon samples for NASA. It would send photos and data back to the Nova-C lander using radio equipment.

A partnership with Nokia Bell Labs and NASA also put a 4G cellular network on the lander. This network would connect the Nova-C lander with the MAPP rover and the Micro-Nova Hopper. This 4G/LTE network provides more data speed than older systems. Nokia hopes future missions will use shared networks on the Moon.

The Athena lander fell on its side when it landed on March 6, 2025. Its instruments still worked partly for a few hours, but with less data coming back. So, the mission was considered a partial failure. On March 13, Intuitive Machines shared that, like with IM-1, Athena's altimeter (a tool that measures height) failed during landing. This meant the computer didn't know its exact height. The spacecraft hit a raised area, tipped over, and slid across the Moon's surface. It rolled once or twice before stopping inside a crater. The impact also kicked up dust that covered the solar panels, making them work even worse.

IM-3 Mission

NASA chose a Nova-C mission for its CLPS program, called CP-11. This mission will deliver equipment to a unique area on the Moon called the lunar swirl in the Reiner Gamma region. In August 2021, Intuitive Machines chose SpaceX to launch its third Moon mission, IM-3. As of August 2024, IM-3 is expected to launch in October 2025 or later. The lander will study the strange magnetic field found near the Reiner Gamma swirl.

The Reiner Gamma landing site was chosen for the first PRISM opportunity. The Lunar Vertex payload from JHU Applied Physics Laboratory was selected to study the surface and its environment in detail. Lunar Vertex includes tools on the Nova-C lander (a magnetometer, a plasma spectrometer, and cameras) and on a Lunar Outpost rover (a magnetometer and a microscopic imager).

Other equipment on IM-3 includes the Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Explorers (CADRE) rovers, ESA's MoonLIGHT Pointing Actuator (MPAc), and KASI's Lunar Space Environment Monitor (LUSEM).

IM-4 Mission

NASA announced and awarded the IM-4 mission in September 2024. It is planned to launch in 2027.

IM-C1 Mission

Intuitive Machines has also mentioned working on a "commercial" mission, called IM-C1.

Future Nova-C Missions

The Nova-C lander was designed to use methane and oxygen as fuel. Scientists believe these fuels might be found on both the Moon and Mars. For future missions, methane and oxygen could be "harvested" (collected and processed) on the Moon or Mars using special technologies. This is called In-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The Nova-C lander technology can also be made bigger to carry larger payloads.

Next Generation Landers

Nova-D

In an interview with NASA in October 2023, Tim Crain, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Intuitive Machines, talked about possibly developing a Nova-D lander. Early reports say the Nova-D will use two VR-900 engines and be able to carry more than 500 kilograms (about 1,100 pounds) to the Moon's surface.

In August 2024, Intuitive Machines suggested a mission to deliver NASA's VIPER rover to the Moon on a Nova-D lander. This mission could happen in late 2027 or later.

Nova-M

Intuitive Machines is also working on another lander called the Nova-M. Early reports suggest it will use two VR-3500 engines. These engines were first made for Boeing and their HLS project. The Nova-M will be able to carry 5,000 kilograms (about 11,000 pounds) to the Moon's surface.