Intuitive Machines

Based in Texas, Intuitive Machines is a diversified space exploration, infrastructure, and services company operating in four business units: Lunar Access Services, Lunar Data Services, Space Systems and Services, and Orbital Services. The company is working on a range of technologies that include debris management and lunar vehicles. The company provides extreme lunar mobility with µNova (Micro Nova) Hopper, which can carry payloads as well as hop into and out of permanently shaded regions (PSR), providing a first look into undiscovered areas that could provide details needed to sustain a human presence on the moon. In its first mission with NASA, an Intuitive Machines lunar lander, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket, is expected to transport payloads to the lunar surface, marking the US’ first return to the moon in 50 years. The company also provides in-space orbital services that can repair, refuel, and raise the orbits of existing satellites by leveraging its expertise on optical navigation, rendezvous and proximity operations, robotic mechanisms, satellite delivery, satellite servicing, and debris removal in orbits from LEO out to cis-lunar space.

Intuitive Machines has slated the launch of its first lunar lander mission, IM-1 , for mid-January 2024. The mission will use the Nova-C lander to deliver payloads for NASA's CLPS program and commercial purposes.

Key customers and partnerships

The company had won contracts worth USD 233 million as of September 2022 under NASA’s commercial lunar payload program, part of NASA’s Artemis mission. The company also partnered with Axiom Space in 2020 to support the construction of the commercial space station and was also selected by Boeing to build engines for Boeing’s human lander system technology development. In January 2023 , the company executed an agreement with space mining company AstroForge to deliver the latter’s Bokkr-2 deep space vehicle into deep space.

Funding and Financials

In September 2022, the company announced its plans to go public in the US through a SPAC (Inflection Point) at close to a USD 1 billion valuation. In February 2023 , it completed its merger with SPAC and began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker “LUNR”.