Lunar Node-1, an autonomous navigation payload that will change how human explorers safely traverse the Moon’s surface and live and work in lunar orbit, awaits liftoff as part of Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission, its first under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. LN-1 was developed, built, and tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

IM-1, the first NASA Commercial Launch Program Services launch for Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander, will carry multiple payloads to the Moon, including Lunar Node-1, demonstrating autonomous navigation via radio beacon to support precise geolocation and navigation among lunar orbiters, landers, and surface personnel. NASA’s CLPS initiative oversees industry development of small robotic landers and rovers to support NASA’s Artemis campaign.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission will carry NASA science and commercial payloads to the Moon to study plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission will carry NASA science and commercial payloads to the Moon to study plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission will carry NASA science and commercial payloads to the Moon to study plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission will carry NASA science and commercial payloads to the Moon to study plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission will carry NASA science and commercial payloads to the Moon to study plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission will carry NASA science and commercial payloads to the Moon to study plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ first lunar mission will carry NASA science and commercial payloads to the Moon to study plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos offer a look inside the twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where engineers will monitor Artemis science and future landing operations for Artemis. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA (Lander Engineering Support Area) rooms are part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center at NASA Marshall. The LUCA is specially designed to support a wide variety of science operations on and around the Moon – and beyond. Engineers in the LUCA monitored operations for the Lunar Node-1 experiment, an autonomous navigation payload that was part of the first NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) launch on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander in 2024. NASA Marshall flight controllers will use the LUCA again for Artemis II to monitor science operations. Beginning with Artemis III, members of the NASA Human Landing System Mission Insight Support Team – a group of engineers, safety leads, flight operations experts, and technical authorities – will work in the LESA. There, they will monitor lander systems in real-time and be involved in key decision-making processes throughout the mission. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.