Nova-C

Mission Profile

Nova-C is Intuitive Machines' commercial lunar lander, launched on 15 February 2024 aboard a Falcon 9 as the IM-1 mission under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The spacecraft carried six NASA payloads to the lunar south polar region, successfully landing near Malapert A crater on 22 February 2024 — the first American soft lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972 — though it arrived on its side after one of its landing legs failed to lock. Despite the orientation anomaly, several payloads returned science data during the approximately 14-hour operational period before the lander's batteries depleted at lunar nightfall. Nova-C's achievement marked a historic milestone for commercial lunar delivery and the CLPS program.