US launches private lunar lander to deliver NASA science instruments

New York:  American company Intuitive Machines has successfully launched its second lunar mission to deliver science payloads of NASA to the Moon.

The mission, codenamed IM-2, lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:16 p.m. EST (5.46 a.m. IST), Xinhua news agency reported.

After the launch, Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander, Athena, will spend approximately one week in transit to the Moon before landing on the lunar surface no earlier than March 6.

The lander is loaded with scientific instruments and will carry NASA science investigations and technology demonstrations to further understand the Moon’s environment, and help prepare for future human missions to the lunar surface, according to NASA.

“Lighting the way to the Moon: As Intuitive Machines’ Lander lifts off aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, it takes with it NASA science and tech,” said NASA in a post on social media platform X.

The US space agency added that the IM-2 mission aims “to help us better understand the lunar environment in preparation for future human explorers”.

IM-2 will demonstrate lunar mobility, resource prospecting, and analysis of volatile substances from sub-surface materials, a critical step toward uncovering water sources beyond the Earth — a key component for establishing sustainable infrastructure both on the lunar surface and in space, according to Intuitive Machines.

Launched as a rideshare with the IM-2 delivery, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft also started its journey to lunar orbit, where it will map the distribution of the different forms of water on the Moon.

Last year, Intuitive Machines made history when its first lunar lander, Odysseus, made a soft touchdown on the lunar surface, marking the first American spacecraft to land on the lunar surface in more than 50 years.

–IANS