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Intuitive Machines Nova-C

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Not to be confused with Nova (rocket).
For the first Nova-C mission, see IM-1.

Nova-C Lunar Lander
File:Intuitive-machines-nova-c-lunar-lander.jpg
Artistic rendering of the Nova-C Class lander on the Moon
ManufacturerIntuitive Machines
DesignerIntuitive Machines
Country of originUnited States
OperatorIntuitive Machines
ApplicationsLunar payloads delivery and support
Specifications
Spacecraft typeLunar lander
BusNova-C Bus
Launch mass1,900 kg (4,200 lb) [1]
Payload capacity100 kg (220 lb) [2]
Power200 W (0.27 hp)[2]
Design lifeAfter landing, 14 Earth days max.
Dimensions
Length3 m (9.8 ft) [3]
Diameter2 m (6 ft 7 in) [3]
Production
StatusIn production
On order2
Launched1
Maiden launch01:05 a.m. EST, 15 February 2024[4]
Related spacecraft
Derived fromProject Morpheus[2]
Flown withFalcon 9 Block 5
Launch vehicleFalcon 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.[5] The IM-1 lunar lander, named Odysseus, 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 execute a soft landing on the lunar surface in over 50 years.[6] It is the first spacecraft to use methalox propulsion to navigate between two celestial bodies, 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.[7] All three landers use SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle.[8][9][10][11][12]

Funding

In 2017 Space Policy Directive 1 signaled the intention of returning NASA astronauts to the Moon.[13] NASA documents obtained by The New York Times suggested the agency would involve the private spaceflight sector in the effort.[14] In 2018 NASA solicited bids from nine companies, including Intuitive Machines, for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.[15] CLPS is part of the NASA Artemis program; one of the long term goals of Artemis is establishing a permanent crewed base on the Moon. Intuitive Machines was one of three service providers awarded task orders in 2019 for delivery of NASA science payloads to the Moon.[5]

In 2021 Intuitive Machines received a NASA contract that was initially valued at US$77 million dollars to conduct lunar landings for NASA.[16] After contract modifications, the total contract value came to US$118 million in 2024.[17]

Overview

Propulsion

Nova-C Class lander model on display

The Nova-C design was developed by Intuitive Machines, inheriting technology from NASA's Project Morpheus. Its pressure-fed VR900 main engine uses methane and oxygen as liquid propellants, pressurized by helium gas,[18] to produce 4,000 N (900 lbf) of thrust. A methane and liquid oxygen fuel system is referred to as a "methalox system."

Methalox fuel technology is believed to be a critical component for future deep space missions. In addition to Methalox fuel, the lander also uses solar panels as a source of power. Nova-C landers are designed to operate in sunlight and not to withstand the cold temperatures of a lunar night. Most areas of the lunar surface are sunlit for a period of approximately fourteen Earth days.

Structure

The lander structure is a hexagonal cylinder with six landing legs and is 3.938 m (12.92 ft) in height. It includes solar panels which can generate 200 W of electrical power on the lunar surface.[19] For attitude[a] control the vehicle uses a helium reaction control system.[20]

Guidance, navigation and control

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.[2][1] Propellant is loaded onto Nova-C at the launch pad alongside propellant loading of the launch vehicle.[21] Nova-C is capable of 24/7 data coverage for its client payload, and can hold a payload of 100 kg.[2]

Missions

The first three Nova-C landers will be used for the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.[16] In 2021, IM signed a US$77 million contract with NASA to conduct the first Nova‑C mission, IM-1. After contract modifications, the total contract value came to US$118 million in 2024.[17] The landers will be tasked with delivering small science and technology-development payloads.[22]

IM-1 mission

Main article: IM-1
Nova-C Class IM-1 Odysseus in preparation for launch

Intuitive Machines (IM) named the lander for the IM-1 mission Odysseus.[23] 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."[20]

Odysseus, the lander for the IM-1 mission, launched on 15 February 2024 at 1:05 AM EST.[4] The Odysseus lander 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.[24]

At 6:39 PM EST IM announced that the Odysseus lander had achieved a soft landing at 6:23 PM EST, as the lander was able to transmit back to IM.[25][26] Its soft Moon landing is the first for an American made spacecraft since Apollo 17, more than 50 years ago, and the first soft lunar landing by a private company.[27][28] 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 when the solar panels will no longer be able to supply power to the lander.[29]


Selection

In 2021, IM signed a US$77 million contract with NASA to build and launch the first Nova‑C as a part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.[16] After contract modifications, the total contract value came to US$118 million in 2024.[17] The first three Nova-C landers will be used for this program, tasked with delivering small payloads to explore and test various new technologies, and to analyze and process some of the natural resources of the Moon.[22]

Launch of the IM-1 mission

Launch

On 31 January 2024 the Odysseus spacecraft was encapsulated in the payload fairing of its Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle.[30] On 13 February, two wet dress rehearsals loading Odysseus with propellants were successful and IM announced that they were ready for launch.[31][32] SpaceX rescheduled the Odysseus launch from 14 February to February 15, reporting "non-nominal" temperature onboard the Odysseus methane tank.[33] Odysseus was launched at 1:05 AM EST on 15 February 2024.

Trans-lunar operations

Odysseus lander just after separation from its Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

The IM-1 Odysseus lander will take five to six days to reach lunar distance. Trent Martin, IM vice president of Space Systems, described the steps used during transit to the Moon. After separation from the launch vehicle the Nova Control operations center established communication with the lander and conducted initial checkouts. The lander was scheduled to perform a main engine “commissioning burn” on 15 February, later rescheduled to 16 February; Martin described it as a “critical step” for the mission.[34]

Early operations
  • On 15 February IM reported an issue with the IM-1 star tracker had delayed the commissioning burn.[35]
  • On 16 February IM reported that Odysseus was in good health, and the commissioning burn had been rescheduled to allow adjustment of the liquid oxygen line cooling time.[36]
  • On 17 February IM released photographic images captured by the spacecraft after separation from the launch vehicle.[37]
Commissioning maneuver
  • On 16 February IM reported a successful commissioning burn.[38] The "commissioning burn" marks the first time that a methalox rocket has been successfully fired in space on a rocket that was designed to be both restartable and reusable. The Zhuque-2 launch vehicle was the first rocket to successfully employ a methalox rocket in space on July 12, 2023, however the Zhuque was not designed to be restartable or reusable.[39][40]
  • The commissioning maneuver (CM) resulted in a 21 m/s (47 mph) change in the lander's velocity.[41]
  • On 18 February IM reported that the mission is still in good health and running on schedule. The Odysseus lander will soon be executing maneuvers for a lunar orbit insertion.[42]
  • On 19 February IM announced that it expected that Odysseus's upcoming lunar landing time would be 22:49 UTC (5:49 PM EST) Feb. 22.[43] The landing time was refined on the morning of February 22 to 23:24 UTC (6:24 PM EST) February 22.
Planned trajectory correction maneuvers

IM planned for up to three trajectory adjustment maneuvers during the trans-lunar phase of the mission.[38] The first was completed on 18 February.[41] After the second maneuver on 20 February, IM indicated there was no need for a third.

  • On 20 February IM reported that the Odysseus lander mission continues in good health and on schedule, and has now completed approximately 72% of its journey to the Moon's surface, having now traveled approximately 170,000 miles from the Earth. One positive indicator described by IM is the fact that the Odysseus lander has only had to use up two out of the three planned trajectory correction maneuvers that IM had originally anticipated would be required on the lander's journey to the Moon, and that no further planned trajectory correction maneuvers should be required on the trans-lunar portion of Odysseus's mission. Insertion of the lander into a lunar orbit is scheduled to take place on February 21.[44]


Animations of IM-1 trajectories
Around the Earth
Around the Moon
   IM-1  ·   Earth ·   Moon

Lunar orbit

Intuitive Machines Odysseus lander performed a scheduled lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver on 21 February. The maneuver altered the velocity by 800 m/s (1,800 mph). IM reported the 408-second main engine LOI burn placed the lander in a 92 km (57 miles) circular lunar orbit.[45] On 22 February IM indicated a previously unannounced "lunar correction maneuver" had been conducted to raise the orbit. Reports indicated the lander's lidar sensors were not functioning properly and IM reprogrammed the lander control system to use data from lidar sensors on a NASA payload.[46]

The lander soent approximately 24 hours orbiting the Moon before its final descent to the lunar surface on 22 February.[47][48][49]

  • In the morning of 21 February IM reported that it had successfully completed its lunar orbit insertion maneuver, that the Odysseus lander's lunar orbital path is now approaching the final descent-orbit, and that the mission remained in good health and on schedule for a lunar landing on 22 February.[49]
  • Later in the day on 21 February the Odysseus lander sent back high resolution images of the lunar surface. IM also adjusted the descent burn parameters based on data from the lunar orbit insertion burn. IM reported that Odysseus continued to be in good health. IM described the risks undertaken during the lunar landing phase of the mission as being a "challenge."[49] In a later report the lunar lander was experiencing some issues with the sensors system, closer to making its descent to the surface. Teams on the ground were able to troubleshoot the issue by reprogramming Odysseus to rely on an experimental NASA payload on board, the Navigation Doppler Lidar.[46]

Lunar landing

Map showing location of the Malapert "satellite craters."
 IM and NASA hosted livestream broadcasts of the Odysseus landing sequence, which broadcast begin at 22:00 UTC (5:00 PM EST) on Thursday, 22 February, 2024.[24] The landing targets the Malapert-A crater, about 300 km (190 mi) from the lunar south pole. [20][50]The lander  successfully landed upright on the Moon at 23:23 UTC(6:23 PM EST)  The soft landing of the Odysseus lander on the Moon marks the first American spacecraft to land on the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.[51]

A favored possible landing site in 2020 was between the Mare Serenitatis plain and the Mare Crisium plain.[52][53] Later on it was decided that the south pole of the Moon was one of the most likely locations to have a suitable source of water for a future manned lunar base.[54]

The Malapert-A crater area just 300 km from the lunar South Pole was chosen due to the fact that it appeared to be a relatively flat and safe place on which to land near to the lunar South Pole, amongst other considerations.[54][55]

EagleCam to record lunar landing

Just before landing, at approximately 30 m (98 ft) above the lunar surface, the Odysseus lander ejected the EagleCam camera-equipped CubeSat, which was dropped onto the lunar surface near the lander, with an impact velocity of about 10 m/s (22 mph). From the surface the EagleCam attempted to capture the first third-person images of a lunar landing, but images are yet to arrive.[56]

Lunar landing timing
  • Early on 22 February IM announced that the current landing target time is 23:24 UTC (6:24 PM EST), and that both IM and NASA will be hosting identical livestream broadcasts of the Odysseus landing sequence, which broadcast is expected to begin at 22:00 UTC (5:00 PM EST) on Thursday, 22 February, 2024.[24]

Payloads

For the IM-1 mission the Nova‑C lander Odysseus carries six NASA-sponsored instruments. The lander also carries six payloads from other customers, including EagleCAM.[53][57] Odysseus is expected to land about a week after sunrise at Malapert-A and remain active until sunset about a week later.[12] The Odysseus lander is not designed to survive the lunar night, which lasts about two weeks.

The lander carries the sculpture Moon Phases by Jeff Koons within its payload. This would be the first sculpture installation to reach the Moon since Paul Van Hoeydonck's Fallen Astronaut sculpture was placed on the Moon by David Scott of Apollo 15 in 1971.[58][59] Koons describes Moon Phases as, "125 miniature Moon sculptures, each approximately one inch in diameter."[60]

A Radio Frequency Mass Gauge (RFMG) payload is included to estimate how much propellant is available during the IM-1 mission. This is the first long-duration test of an RFMG on a standalone spacecraft.[61]

Name Agency/Company Type
Nova-C Odysseus Intuitive Machines Lunar lander
* ILO-X [62] International Lunar Observatory Instrument
* Laser Retro-Reflector Array NASA Instrument
* Navigation Doppler Lidar for Precise Velocity and Range Sensing NASA Instrument
* Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator NASA Instrument
* Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies NASA Instrument
* Radiowave Observations at the Lunar Surface of the photoElectron Sheath (ROLSES)[63] NASA / University of Colorado Boulder Instrument
* Tiger Eye 1 [64] Louisiana State University Instrument
EagleCAM [65] Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University CubeSat
Lunaprise [66] Galactic Legacy Labs Memorial
Moon Phases[67] Pace Verso / 4Space / NFMoon Sculpture

Lunar operations

  • At approximately 9:00 PM EST on 22 February IM announced on Twitter/X that communications with Odysseus had been improved enough to know that the lander had landed in the upright position.[68]

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 7 remaining Earth days of sunlight left before the next lunar sunset. Accordingly, the Odysseus system has been programmed so that after seven days, once the sun has finally set over the landing site, it will fully and finally shut down.[69]

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.[7] The primary payload, PRIME-1, include 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.[70][71]

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.[72]

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.[73][74]

A lunar communications satellite will be deployed on this mission to facilitate communications between the lander and ground stations on Earth.[74]

Spaceflight will deliver rideshare payloads on this mission aboard its Sherpa EScape (Sherpa-ES) space tug called Geo Pathfinder.[75][76]

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.[77][78]

IM-3 mission

In August 2021, IM selected SpaceX to launch its third lunar mission IM-3, at some point in 2024.[10] As of February 2024, the launch of IM-3 is expected to take place in early 2025.[7] It will deliver payloads to the Reiner Gamma lunar swirl for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.[79][80] 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.[81]

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).[82][83] The Nova-C lander technology platform can be scaled up to mid and large lander classes, capable of accommodating larger payloads.[22]

Nova-D successor

In an interview with NASA recorded in October 2023 Tim Crain, CTO of Intuitive Machines, mentions the possible development of a Nova-D lander.[84]

See also

Other commercial lunar lander programs
Lunar lander programs by country

Notes

  1. ^ attitude here refers to orientation of the spacecraft, not distance from a planetary surface

References

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