SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Nova C (IM-1) to the Moon
Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, has launched a private rocket to the moon, marking the first private U.S. moon landing in over 50 years. The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a lunar lander made by Intuitive Machines, took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission, named “IM-1,” is set to make a soft landing on the moon on February 22, which, if successful, would be the first U.S. landing since the Apollo missions and the first achieved by a privately owned spacecraft1234. The lander, named Odysseus, is part of NASA’s Artemis program and is carrying various instruments to gather data about the lunar environment. This mission is a significant step in the efforts to return astronauts to the moon and jumpstart the lunar economy ahead of human missions3.
First of at least 3 robotic lunar landing missions by Intuitive Machines as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Program. The lunar lander, named Odysseus, will fly 6 payloads for NASA and several others for commercial companies to near Malapert A crater near the Moon’s south pole.
Source video: NASASpaceflight