IM-1

IM-1 was a robotic Moon landing mission conducted by Intuitive Machines under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The Nova-C lander, named Odysseus, touched down near the Malapert-A crater in the Moon's southern hemisphere on February 22, 2024. It had launched on a Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A on February 15. IM-1 was the first lunar soft landing by a private company and the first US lunar soft landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. It was the second launch under CLPS, after the failure of Peregrine Mission One in January 2024. After contact with the lunar surface, the lander tipped to an unplanned 30 degree angle. All instrument payloads remained functional and the mission was deemed a success, though the data transmission rate was significantly below the planned rate. NASA provided funding support for the mission through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. carried six NASA-developed payloads and several others from commercial and educational customers. On February 29, Odysseus lost power and shut down with the start of the lunar night, and could not be reactivated at the start of the next lunar day. IM stated Nova-C is the first spacecraft to use liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox) propulsion beyond low-Earth orbit, and in landing on another celestial body. The mission was followed by IM-2, which unsuccessfully landed on Mons Mouton in March 2025.