Intuitive Machines Is Expanding Its Space Services Beyond The Moon Landings

The Intuitive Machines’ Athena lunar lander’s failure to properly land on the Moon seems to have taken a toll on the firm, forcing it to diversify its business. This diversification effort will usher the Texas-based space firm into various aspects of the space business, not just the development of lunar landers.

Intuitive Machines To Provide Lunar Communications As It Diversifies

During an earnings call on 24 March 2025, the Texas-based space firm proudly announced the shifting of its attention to other areas of the space industry. One of the major areas that the firm will be moving into will be the provision of lunar communications through satellites.

Steve Altermus, chief executive of Intuitive Machines, said his firm is “really moving into this data services business, a full-court press here.” He refers to this aspect of the space industry his firm is entering as a national asset that “can be used by many different customers.”

Intuitive Machines is also confident that the provision of lunar communications is more profitable than the development of lunar landers. In September 2024, the Texas-based firm won a NASA contract to provide communication and navigation services on the Moon.

So this new area that the firm is diversifying into isn’t altogether new to them. Intuitive Machines is already working to develop five satellites in lunar orbit, providing communication on the Moon.

The first satellite will launch in 2026 with the IM-3 lunar lander mission, while the second and third will launch in 2027 with the IM-4 lunar lander mission. Currently, there is no information regarding the launch of the remaining two satellites.

Another area of diversification of Intuitive Machines will be the development of an orbital transfer vehicle. The details on this vehicle known as Nebula such as its function might be ready in the coming months.

Is Intuitive Machines Abandoning Its Lunar Lander Development?

While Intuitive Machines is diversifying its business, it won’t abandon the development of lunar landers. The space firm is already preparing its IM-3 and IM-4 lunar lander missions, which will launch in 2026 and 2027 respectively.

There are also plans to develop a Nova-C lunar lander as well as a larger Nova-D lunar lander. In addition to this, the Texas-based space company is also preparing its lunar rover known as the Lunar Terrain Vehicle.

With this many plans, it is clear that Intuitive Machines isn’t shying away from the development of lunar landers. Next year, we’ll get details on the launch of the firm’s next lunar lander mission, and possibly they might correct the flaws with the last two launches.