Intuitive Machines Nova-C facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
*Nova-C* lunar lander
Specifications
Artistic rendering of the Nova-C Class lander on the Moon

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


Spacecraft type	Lunar lander
Bus	Nova-C Bus
Design life	After landing, 14 Earth days max.
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 (and operational)
Built	1
On order	2
Launched	1
Operational	1
Maiden launch	01:05 a.m. EST, 15 February 2024


Related spacecraft
Derived from	Project Morpheus
Flown with	Falcon 9 Block 5

The Intuitive Machines Nova-C, or simply Nova-C, is a class of lunar landers designed by Intuitive Machines (IM) to deliver small payloads to the surface of the Moon. Intuitive Machines was one of three service providers awarded task orders in 2019 for delivery of NASA science payloads to the Moon. The IM-1 lunar lander, named Odysseus (pronounced Ə-diss-EE-əs), was launched on 15 February 2024, reached lunar orbit on 21 February, and landed on the lunar surface on 22 February. This marked the inaugural Nova-C landing on the Moon and the first American spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon in over 50 years. It is the first spacecraft to use methalox propulsion to navigate between the Earth and the Moon.

The second Nova-C lander with the IM-2 mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2024, and a third Nova-C lander on the IM-3 mission is scheduled for early 2025. All three landers use SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

The second Nova-C lander with the IM-2 mission is scheduled for a launch in March 2024, and a third Nova-C lander on the IM-3 mission is scheduled for June 2024. All three landers will launch on SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

The Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander program is a part of the NASA Artemis program, one of whose long term goals is to establish a permanent manned base on the Moon.

Overview
Mission control
IM-1 mission
- Lunar surface operations
- Lunar nightfall
IM-2 mission
IM-3 mission
Further Nova-C missions
Nova-D successor
Images for kids
See also
- Other commercial US lunar lander programs
- Lunar lander programs by country

Overview

The Nova-C design was developed by Intuitive Machines, inheriting technology developed by NASA's Project Morpheus. Its pressure-fed VR900 main engine uses methane and oxygen as liquid propellants, pressurized by helium gas, to produce 4,000 N (900 lb_f) of thrust. The lander structure is a hexagonal cylinder with six landing legs. It includes solar panels which can generate 200 W of electrical power on the lunar surface. For attitude control the vehicle uses a helium reaction control system.

The lander includes autonomous landing and hazard detection technology and once landed is still capable of relocating itself to a second landing site by performing a vertical takeoff, cruise, and vertical landing. Propellant is loaded onto Nova-C at the launch pad alongside propellant loading of the launch vehicle. Nova-C is capable of 24/7 data coverage for its client payload, and can hold a payload of 100 kg.

Mission control

Nova-C operations are conducted from a private mission control center. The IM-1 mission partners with Fugro SpAARC for contingency mission control. Use of "Nova Control" and the associated Lunar Data Network ground stations are also offered as commercial services.

IM-1 mission

Nova-C Class IM-1 Odysseus in preparation for launch

Intuitive Machines (IM) named the lander for the IM-1 mission Odysseus. According to IM, "IM-1 is a ... mission aimed at creating a commercial lunar economy, delivering commercial payloads and NASA science and technology payloads that will pave the way for a sustainable human presence on and around the Moon."

Odysseus, the lander for the IM-1 mission, launched on 15 February 2024 at 1:05 AM EST. Odysseus achieved lunar orbit on 21 February. Both IM and NASA hosted identical livestream broadcasts of the Odysseus landing sequence, which began at 22:00 UTC (5:00 PM EST) on Thursday, 22 February, 2024.

At 6:39 PM EST, IM announced that Odysseus had achieved a soft landing at 6:23 PM EST, as the lander was able to transmit back to IM. Its soft Moon landing is the first for an American made spacecraft since Apollo 17, more than 50 years ago, and the first by a private company. Odysseus touched down on the Moon in the middle of a lunar day, and is expected to remain functional for approximately seven more Earth days, when the cold lunar night will set in and the solar panels will no longer be able to supply power.

Lunar surface operations

At approximately 9:00 PM EST on 22 February, IM announced on Twitter/X that the weak communications signal from the Odysseus lander had been improved enough to know that the lander had landed in the upright position.

On the morning of 23 February, IM gave a "Lunar Surface Day One Update." The update reported that the Odysseus lander continues to be "alive and well," and that IM is continuing to learn more about the vehicle's specific information. IM will be holding a press conference later on this day, and Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus will be a participant in the press conference. The time scheduled for the press conference is soon to be announced.

Lunar nightfall

According to IM, the Odysseus lander was not designed to withstand the lunar night and requires sunlight upon its solar panels to power its operations. A full lunar day is 28.3 Earth days long (a full lunar cycle or month) with 14.15 Earth days of sunlight, and 14.15 Earth days of darkness. Since the lander touched down on the Moon at what could be called the lunar noon-time, approximately seven Earth days after the lunar sunrise for that lunar day, the lander will only have approximately seven remaining Earth days of sunlight left before the next lunar sunset. Accordingly, Odysseus' system has been programmed so that after seven days, once the Sun has set over the landing site, it will fully and finally shut down.

IM-2 mission

IM was selected in October 2020 in order to land its second Nova-C lander near the lunar south pole. As of February 2024, IM-2 is expected to be launched no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2024. The primary payload, PRIME-1, includes the TRIDENT ice drill to sample ice from below the lunar surface and the MSolo mass spectrometer to measure the amount of ice in the samples.

ILO-1 prime contractor Canadensys is working to deliver "a flight-ready low-cost optical payload for the ILO-1 mission, ruggedized for the Moon South Pole environment". It could potentially be ready for integration on the IM-2 mission.

The µNova (Micro Nova) Hopper will separate from the Nova-C lander after landing and function as a standalone hopper lander, exploring multiple difficult-to-reach areas such as deep craters on the lunar surface.

A lunar communications satellite will be deployed on this mission to facilitate communications between the lander and ground stations on Earth.

Spaceflight will deliver rideshare payloads on this mission aboard its Sherpa EScape (Sherpa-ES) space tug called Geo Pathfinder.

The MiniPIX TPX3 SPACE payload, provided by the Czech company ADVACAM, will be onboard the Nova-C lunar lander. This payload is designed to monitor the radiation field on the Moon and help understand how to protect crew and equipment from the negative effects of cosmic rays. This marks the first Czech payload planned to be delivered to the Moon's surface.

IM-3 mission

In August 2021, IM selected SpaceX to launch its third lunar mission IM-3, at some point in 2024. As of February 2024, the launch of IM-3 is expected to take place in early 2025. It will deliver payloads to the Reiner Gamma lunar swirl for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. There the lander will conduct experiments investigating the properties of the unexpected magnetic field that has been detected in the vicinity of the Reiner Gamma swirl.

Further Nova-C missions

The Nova-C lander was designed to be compatible with methane and oxygen fuel sources that are believed to be available on both the Moon and on Mars. For future missions, methane and oxygen could potentially be "harvested" wherever the Nova-C lander may be based using In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) (off-world resource processing technologies). The Nova-C lander technology platform can be scaled up to mid and large lander classes, capable of accommodating larger payloads.