BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Intuitive Machines is about to launch its second Lunar Lander named Athena.
The commercial IM-2 mission will land Athena near the moon’s South Pole. Scientists suspect the area may have water ice, a potential resource that can be converted into breathable air, drinking water, or rocket fuel for future missions.
The uncrewed lander will carry both NASA and commercial payloads to the lunar surface in preparation for future missions.
Apollo 16 Astronaut Charlie Duke is one of only a dozen men to have ever walked on the moon.
He also has a special connection to the IM-2 mission.
His likeness and the silhouette of retired NASA astronaut Nicole Stott are headed to the lunar surface as part of a Lonestar payload on Athena. 3-D technology was used to create the housing for a data center.
At lunar sunrise, it will cast a shadow that forms an image of Duke, and at lunar sunset, it will cast an image of Stott.
She told us, ‘When you look at what’s going on right now, the question about the commercial activities, it’s a public private partnership right now that is successful, that is thriving really.” Space Florida President and CEO Rob Long said, “I think long term you’re going to just continue to see growth. I think we see it daily. We’ve seen it are increase even internally in the clients that we deal with. We have increased year over year. We’re going to see maybe close to 140 to 150 launches this year alone.”
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