SpaceX Selected To Launch Intuitive Machines IM-4 Mission

Taking to its official blog a few days ago, US-based space firm Intuitive Machines announced that the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will land its IM-4 mission on the moon. This launch will take place from Florida in 2027, and it’ll carry two satellites to the lunar surface, supporting the NASA Near Space Network Services (NSNS) contract.

Intuitive Machines To Rely On The Falcon 9 Rocket For Its IM4 Mission

The Intuitive Machines IM4 mission will be the firm’s fourth lunar delivery mission, and it’ll be unlike the last mission. Unlike the firm’s last lunar Athena mission, which took a lunar lander carrying NASA scientific equipment to the moon, this coming mission will be different.

With the IM4 mission, the US-based space firm will launch two lunar relay satellites to the surface of the Moon. Steve Altemus, the CEO of Intuitive Machines, while speaking on this coming mission, said that “Lunar surface delivery and data relay satellites are central to our strategy to commercialize the Moon.”

One might ask what these satellites are capable of and why they will be heading to the Moon by 2027. Altemus says that “the satellites are capable of hosting additional payloads and science sensors to serve commercial industry and other government customers.”

In total, Intuitive Machines plans to launch five of these relay satellites to the Moon. The first of the five satellites will make its way to the Moon on the IM-3 mission, and following this launch will be the next two satellites.

These will launch with the IM4 mission, which will make use of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2027. The last two of the five satellites will launch with a later mission, as the official report doesn’t reveal any details about this mission.

The Intuitive Machines IM-4 Mission Will Support Other Initiatives

The Intuitive Machines IM-4 mission, which will launch in 2027, will carry more than two satellites to the Moon. This mission looks beyond just the provision of Direct-To-Earth services via a suite of satellites that will be sent to the Moon.

While this mission will support the NASA Near Space Network Services (NSNS) initiative, it’ll also support other scientific causes. One of these causes is the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) initiative, as it’ll carry six payloads for this initiative to the Moon.

It’ll also take a drill suite designed by the European Space Agency to search for water on the Moon’s south pole. In two years, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will convey the Intuitive Machines IM-4 mission to space, where it’ll make its way to the Moon for the advancement of space science.