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IM-3
IM-3 is an upcoming lunar mission that will be carried in late October 2025 by Intuitive Machines for NASA's CLPS program, using a Nova-C lunar lander. Background NASA selected a Nova-C mission for CLPS task order CP-11.[1] It will deliver payloads to the lunar swirl in the Reiner Gamma region.[2] In August 2021, Intuitive Machines selected SpaceX to launch its third lunar mission, IM-3.[3] As of August 2024, the launch of IM-3 is expected to take place no earlier than October 2025.[4] The lander will conduct experiments investigating the properties of the unexpected magnetic field that has been detected in the vicinity of the Reiner Gamma swirl.[5] Mission hardwareThe Reiner Gamma landing site was announced for the first PRISM opportunity and the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory's Lunar Vertex payload was selected to conducted a detailed scientific analysis of the surface and surface environment. David Blewett (APL) is the principal investigator and leads the science team. Lunar Vertex includes payload elements on the Nova-C lander (APL magnetometer, SwRI plasma spectrometer, and Redwire camera arrays) and on a Lunar Outpost rover (APL magnetometer and Canadensys microscopic imager). APL also provided overall management, systems engineer, SMA, and rover integration and testing.[6] Additional IM-3 payloads include the Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Explorers (CADRE) rovers, ESA's MoonLIGHT Pointing Actuator (MPAc) and KASI's Lunar Space Environment Monitor (LUSEM).[1] Mission eventsPrior to launchAs of early 2025, the mission is scheduled for launch in October 2025. See alsoReferences
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