In a daring leap towards the cosmos, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shared that US companies are gearing up to launch another historic mission to the moon on Valentine’s Day — a month short after a failed attempt.
The upcoming mission is called the “IM-1 mission,” which will involve “Odysseus,” the Nova-C lander by Houston-based Intuitive Machines set on top of a SpaceX rocket. The targeted liftoff is at 12:57 AM from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with an expected landing at a lunar south pole impact crater on Feb. 22.
NASA paid Intuitive Machines more than US$100 million to carry its scientific hardware on the mission for the exploration of the lunar environment. Apart from the science stuff, the mission also aims to bring sculptures by artist Jeff Koons to the moon.
The previous attempt didn't go as planned, with the spaceship burning in the Earth's atmosphere, but this did not stop them from achieving their goal of pulling off the first gentle landing on the Moon in over 50 years.
Watch the live launch coverage on NASA+!
