IM-1 Odysseus

Intuitive Machines' Odysseus delivered NASA and commercial payloads to the lunar south polar region under the CLPS initiative.

Mission purpose and context

IM-1 was the first Intuitive Machines lunar mission under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services programme. It demonstrated that a privately operated lander could deliver NASA instruments to the lunar surface, although the final landing geometry was not nominal.

Spacecraft and mission architecture

The Nova-C lander Odysseus carried NASA and commercial payloads, including navigation demonstrations, radio-science equipment and instruments intended to characterise the surface and landing environment. The mission used a commercial launch and independently operated lunar spacecraft.

Payload and measurement highlights

• NASA's Navigation Doppler Lidar demonstrated precision velocity and range sensing during descent.
• SCALPSS observed plume-surface interaction effects.
• ROLSES studied the radio environment near the lunar surface.
• Other payloads investigated propellant measurement, navigation and laser-ranging technologies.

Flight and surface operations

Launched in February 2024, Odysseus entered lunar orbit and landed in the Malapert A region on 22 February. The vehicle reached the surface at a higher lateral speed than intended and came to rest tipped over, but communications and several payload operations continued for days.

Mission sequence

1. 15 February 2024: launched Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander Odysseus under NASA's CLPS initiative.
2. 22 February: entered the final descent and landed in the Malapert A region near the lunar south pole.
3. The lander came to rest in an unexpected attitude but returned data from NASA and commercial payloads during surface operations.

Science and measurements

The mission returned engineering and science data from a high-southern-latitude location. Its outcome is best described at the subsystem level: the lander achieved a soft lunar arrival and payload delivery, while the final attitude constrained some planned operations.

What changed because of this mission

IM-1 became the first U.S. lunar soft landing since Apollo 17 and a major test of NASA's strategy of purchasing commercial lunar delivery services rather than owning every lander.

Mission outcome

It became the first U.S. soft lunar landing since Apollo 17 and an important demonstration of commercial lunar delivery, despite landing with an unexpected final attitude.

The outcome should be read against the mission's actual objectives and architecture. Multi-element missions can have different results for an orbiter, lander, rover or sample-return stage, while a shortened mission can still return important science or demonstrate a critical technology.

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Primary reference

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