Intuitive Machines announced that it has set a new launch time for the IM-1 Moon mission. The launch, coordinated with SpaceX, is aimed to be carried out within a few days, not before mid-February 2024.
The update came after unfavorable weather conditions led to changes to the SpaceX launch manifest.
Interestingly, the mission would also include DOGE-1, a CubeSat mission planned by Geometric Energy Corporation. The mission's expenses will be covered entirely with Dogecoin. The launch of DOGE-1 was announced by Elon Musk on Twitter on May 9, 2021, as a joint rideshare on the Nova-C/IM-1 mission, a joint mission between Intuitive Machines and NASA.
In the previous plan, the mission was expected to be launched in the last quarter of 2023.
The launch window in mid-February represents the next available opportunity for the launch of IM-1, given the Moon's monthly dark period. The IM-1 mission's Nova-C Lunar rover will land near the Moon's south pole, requiring special lighting conditions that are only available for a few days each month.
*This is not investment advice.
