IM-1

This article is about the 2024 lunar landing mission IM-1, featuring the spacecraft Odysseus. For the putative interstellar object reported in June 2019 also known as IM1, see CNEOS 2014-01-08. For other uses, see IM 1 (disambiguation).
"Odysseus (spacecraft)" redirects here. For the 1990-2009 solar orbiting mission originally named Odysseus, see Ulysses (spacecraft).

IM-1
(Odysseus)
IM-1 (Odysseus) in preparation for launch
NamesTO2-IM[1]
CLPS-2[2]
Mission typeLunar landing
OperatorIntuitive Machines
COSPAR ID2024-030A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.58963
Mission duration14 days[3]
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftOdysseus
Spacecraft typeNova-C
ManufacturerIntuitive Machines
Launch mass1,900 kg (4,200 lb)
Start of mission
Launch dateFebruary 15, 2024, 06:05:00 (2024-02-15UTC06:05Z) UTC
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5 (B1060.18) ♺
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39A
End of mission
DeclaredMarch 23, 2024 (2024-03-24)[4]
Last contactFebruary 29, 2024 (2024-03-01)[3]
Lunar lander
Landing dateFebruary 22, 2024, 23:23:00 UTC
Landing siteMalapert A
80°08′S 1°26′E / 80.13°S 1.44°E / -80.13; 1.44[5]

IM-1 mission insignia
Motto: ADTIGO PLANITIA LUNAE
(I touch the plains of the Moon)
(Stick The Landing)[6]
IM-2 →

IM-1 was a robotic Moon landing mission conducted by Intuitive Machines (IM) in February 2024 using a Nova-C lunar lander. After contact with the lunar surface on February 22 the lander tipped to an unplanned 30 degree angle. All instrument payloads remained functional and the mission was deemed a success.[7] IM-1 was the first commercial mission to successfully soft-land on the Moon.[8][9] NASA provided funding support for the mission through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The lander, named Odysseus, 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.[3]

IM-1 was the first soft lunar landing by a private company[10][11] and Odysseus was the first American-made spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. Steve Altemus, CEO of IM, says Nova-C is the first spacecraft to use liquid methane and liquid oxygen (methalox) propulsion beyond low-Earth orbit, and also the first methalox spacecraft to land on an off-world celestial body.[12]

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