NASA-Backed Intuitive Machines Moon Lander Launch Delayed Due to Methane Fuel Issue
The scheduled launch of Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander, backed by NASA, has been postponed due to a methane fuel issue. The Houston-based Intuitive IM-1 lunar lander was slated to lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on February 14 at 12:57 a.m. EST.
In a statement, NASA announced that the launch was delayed “due to off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load.”
“SpaceX and Intuitive Machines are now targeting 1:05 a.m. EST Thursday, February 15,” the agency added.
The mission aims to send Intuitive Machines’ robotic Nova-C lander, named “Odysseus,” towards Earth’s nearest neighbor, with the goal of achieving the first-ever soft landing by a private spacecraft on the lunar surface on February 22.
“Standing down from tonight’s attempt due to off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load,” SpaceX wrote in an update on X.com.
The IM-1 mission marks the company’s inaugural attempted lunar landing as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, a crucial component of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration endeavors.
The payloads of science and technology intended for the Moon’s surface, under the CLPS program, aim to establish the groundwork for human missions and a sustainable human presence on the lunar terrain.
If successful, the mission will mark the United States’ return to lunar exploration after approximately 50 years, following Apollo 17’s last moon landing in December 1972.
In January, another NASA-backed company, Astrobiotic Technology’s lunar lander, experienced “critical” fuel loss, preventing it from reaching the Moon.
