NASA is planning a commercial robotic journey to the Moon through the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) project and the Artemis campaign. The Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission will carry six NASA payloads destined for the lunar South Pole.

Intuitive Machines plans to launch its Nova-C lander on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than Wednesday, February 14, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

In order to better understand the Moon's environment and enhance landing safety and precision in the treacherous conditions of the lunar south polar region, a group of NASA instruments aboard IM-1 will carry out scientific research and showcase technologies. This will pave the way for upcoming Artemis astronaut missions.

The payloads will collect data on how engine gas plumes interact with the Moon's surface and generate lunar dust, investigate radio astronomy and space weather interactions with the lunar surface, test precision landing technologies, and measure the amount of liquid propellant in Nova-C propellant tanks in zero gravity space. The Nova-C lander will also contain a retroreflector array, contributing to a network of location markers on the Moon that will be used as a position marker for decades to come.

The Nova-C lander is set to touchdown on Thursday, February 22, in a relatively level and secure spot near the Malapert A crater in the Moon's south polar zone.

The following six NASA payloads are on board Intuitive Machines' IM-1 mission:

• LN-1 (Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator)
• LRA (Laser Retroreflector Array)
• NDL (Navigation Doppler Lidar for Precise Velocity and Range Sensing)
• RFMG (Radio Frequency Mass Gauge)
• ROLSES (Radio-wave Observations at the Lunar Surface of the Photoelectron Sheath)
• SCALPSS (Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies)