30.07.2023

Intuitive Machines is a diversified space company focused on space exploration. Intuitive Machines supplies space products and services to support sustained robotic and human exploration to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Intuitive Machines' products and services are offered through its four business units: Lunar Access Services, Orbital Services, Lunar Data Services, and Space Products and Infrastructure.

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (Nasdaq: LUNR, LUNRW) reports that NASA's Space Technology and Mission Directorate (STMD) has awarded a $15 million Tipping Point initiative award to the Zeno Power-led team, including Intuitive Machines. The award is for the development of a Radioisotope Power System (RPS) that may enable lunar assets to survive and operate during the lunar night and in permanently shadowed regions of the Moon.

Intuitive Machines has been designated approximately $2.4 million of the award to assist Zeno Power in developing an interoperable americium-241 (Am-241) radioisotope Sterling generator that may be integrated into lunar landers to enable it to survive the lunar night cycle.

The lunar night cycle refers to the period of darkness on the Moon that lasts approximately 14 Earth days. During this time, temperatures on the lunar surface drop drastically, reaching as low as -279 degrees Fahrenheit. By surviving the lunar night, missions on the surface of the Moon could extend from two Earth weeks to several years.

"The ability to survive the lunar night is paramount to Intuitive Machines and the space exploration community," said Trent Martin, Intuitive Machines Vice President of Space Systems. "NASA investing in mission longevity and the endurance of spacecraft paves the way for uninterrupted scientific exploration, enabling future robotic and human missions to unlock the mysteries of the lunar surface and propel humanity's presence in space to new frontiers."

Through the Tipping Point solicitation, NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate seeks industry-developed space technologies that can foster the development of commercial space capabilities and benefit future NASA missions.

The public-private partnerships established through Tipping Point selections combine NASA resources with industry contributions, shepherding the development of critical space technologies. NASA plans to leverage these innovations for its Artemis program, which will establish sustainable operations on the Moon by the end of the decade in preparation for an expedition to Mars.

The Zeno Power-led team's goal is to develop flight-ready technology for a 2027 lunar surface demonstration.

Quelle: SD