IM-2 Mission Targets Thursday for Moon Landing
Carrying Multiple Experiments, First Lunar Data Center
Intuitive Machines is targeting no earlier than 12:32 p.m. EST on Thursday, March 6 for a landing on the Moon. The company’s Nova-C lunar lander is slated to land in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s South Pole, as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to establish a long-term lunar presence.
"This is our Kitty Hawk moment. This is where the future begins for this new resilient layer of critical global infrastructure serving us all down here on Earth."
Chris Stott, Lonestar Data Holdings
The lander is carrying NASA technology that will measure the potential presence of resources from lunar soil that could be extracted and used by future explorers to produce fuel or breathable oxygen.
In addition, a passive Laser Retroreflector Array on the top deck of the lander will bounce laser light back at any orbiting or incoming spacecraft to give future spacecraft a permanent reference point on the lunar surface. Other technologies on this delivery will demonstrate a robust cellular network to help future astronauts communicate and deploy a propulsive drone that can hop across the lunar surface to navigate its challenging terrain.
Lonestar Data Holdings has established communications with and conducted commercial testing and operation of its data center while enroute to the Moon. The milestone marks a pivotal step in establishing the first-ever commercial lunar data center as a new layer of critical resilient data center infrastructure serving the world.
Notable achievements include:
Successful test of data storage and Disaster Recovery for its Government and Enterprise customers. Here Lonestar executed file uploads, downloads, data encryption, decryption, authentication, and in-space data manipulation for its customers.
Lonestar's payload successfully executed edge processing tasks in space, including data handling for Valkyrie AI, the Exploration Institute, and other key customers.
Lonestar's payload successfully demonstrated its in-space endurance with all of its power, temperature, CPU memory, and telemetry readings remaining stable, demonstrating the survivability of Lonestar's technology in the harsh environment of space at both upper and lower operational limits.
Lonestar's first commercial lunar data center is designed to provide secure, resilient, and independent storage for mission-critical data beyond Earth. It has now successfully demonstrated this for its key customers.
"Harnessing space as a resource for business, innovation, and long-term sustainability is key to driving the growth of the new space economy. At Space Florida, we are committed to advancing infrastructure and fostering partnerships that ensure Florida remains the premier hub for interplanetary commerce," said Rob Long, president and CEO of Space Florida. "Congratulations to our partners at Lonestar on another successful test mission to the Moon."
"This is our Kitty Hawk moment. This is where the future begins for this new resilient layer of critical global infrastructure serving us all down here on Earth. This is an extraordinary moment for Lonestar and for the future of secure global data storage," said Chris Stott, CEO of Lonestar Data Holdings. "By proving that our technology can operate in space, we are one step closer to establishing the Lunar L1 Lagrange Point and the Moon as the ultimate off-Earth storage and data resiliency solutions. We are thrilled with the results so far and eagerly anticipate the next phase of this groundbreaking mission."
Leveraging Earth's largest satellite, the Moon, and the space around it to ensure secure data storage with, data sovereignty, security, resiliency and redundancy will become increasingly vital. Lonestar is committed to pioneering lunar-based edge computing and storage solutions, ensuring that critical digital assets can be preserved independent of Earth-based infrastructure.
NASA continues to work with multiple American companies to deliver technology and science to the lunar surface through the agency’s CLPS initiative.