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 had the launch of its first lunar lander mission, IM-1 , in February 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. In August 2024 , the company received a USD 117 million contract from the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), to deliver six science instruments with a total mass of 79 kg to the Moon's South Pole in 2027. Furthermore, in September 2024 , the company received another NASA contract valued at USD 4.82 billion for Geostationary Orbit to Cislunar Relay Services. As such, the company will deploy lunar relay satellites and provide services for NASA's Artemis lunar mission. 

The company also partnered with Axiom Space in January 2020 to support the construction of the commercial space station and in October 2019 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.