The next mission, IM-3, will be delayed because of “NASA payload delivery dates moving to the right,” he said. The company is now projecting that mission to launch in October or November of 2025.
Mission 3: VestriOur third mission will feature our 200kg production vehicle, Vestri, which is designed to return to our target Near Earth Asteroid and dock with the body in space. Vestri’s insights and characterization of our target asteroid’s composition will allow us to obtain the quality and quantity of valuable elements located on the asteroid. The Vestri spacecraft will be developed completely in-house from the start, and launch on Intuitive Machines’ third mission in 2025.If successful, this mission will be the first private mission to land on another body outside of our Earth-Moon system and will move us closer to realizing our mission of making off-world resources accessible to all humankind.
Firing on all cylinders: Announcing $40M and Mission 3 [Aug 20]QuoteMission 3: VestriOur third mission will feature our 200kg production vehicle, Vestri, which is designed to return to our target Near Earth Asteroid and dock with the body in space. Vestri’s insights and characterization of our target asteroid’s composition will allow us to obtain the quality and quantity of valuable elements located on the asteroid. The Vestri spacecraft will be developed completely in-house from the start, and launch on Intuitive Machines’ third mission in 2025.If successful, this mission will be the first private mission to land on another body outside of our Earth-Moon system and will move us closer to realizing our mission of making off-world resources accessible to all humankind.
In an earnings call this morning, Intuitive Machines says they're now targeting a February 2025 launch window for their IM-2 lander mission. IM-3 planned for early 2026.
Backlog increased by $47.6 million as of September 30, 2024 compared to December 31, 2023, due to $235.6 million in new awards primarily associated with a new IM-4 CLPS contract awarded in the third quarter of 2024, the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services design project, a new commercial payload contract on the IM-3 mission, task order modifications to the IM-2 CLPS contract and the IM-3 CLPS contract.
IM-3Remains on track for roughly one year from now, incorporating findings and corrective actions from the reviews
Introducing Pay-by-the-Minute ServiceRevenue generation beyond the initial $150 million following the first satellite deployment on the IM-3 mission
Accomplished payload testing of three Jet Propulsion Laboratory-developed rovers for IM-3; IM-3 lunar mission remains on track for first half of 2026 and will incorporate IM-2 lessons learned
Also in early FY 2026, Intuitive Machines' third commercial delivery will include the first Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) payload. The first PRISM-1 payload, Lunar Vertex, is set to land in of FY 2026, alongside the STMD Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE) rovers and two international payloads, one from South Korea and the other from the European Space Agency (ESA).
In FY 2026, LDEP will complete a delivery for integration payloads for four CLPS deliveries. Intuitive Machines' third commercial delivery will include LDEP's first PRISM payload. The first PRISM-1 payload, Lunar Vertex, is set to land in the first quarter of FY 2026, alongside the STMD Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE) rovers and two international payloads, a radiation sensor from South Korea and a retroreflector from the European Space Agency (ESA).
Q4 FY2025 Delivery of PRISM-1 payload (Lunar Vertex) to Intuitive Machines for integration on IM-3
NASA made three PRISM-1 selections in June of 2021 and will deliver the first of these payloads to high science-value locations on the lunar surface as early as the second quarter of FY 2026: the Reiner Gamma albedo swirl on the lunar nearside
The three PRISM-1 selections were: Lunar Vertex (LVx) which is a combination of stationary lander payloads and a rover that will make detailed measurements of the magnetic field, plasma environment, and regolith properties
LVx is on the CLPS manifest awarded to Intuitive Machines with lunar surface delivery of these payloads no earlierthan the second quarter of FY 2026.
Our IM-3 mission contract for lunar payload services became a loss contract in 2021 due to estimated contract costs exceeding the estimated amount of consideration that we expected to receive. For the nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, changes in estimated contract costs resulted in an additional $19.6 million and $9.9 million in contract loss, respectively. The increase in estimated contract costs was primarily driven by the alignment of the mission schedule with the completion of an internally-developed satellite to be placed in lunar orbit to meet NSNS contract obligations. The period of performance for this contract currently runs through June 2026. However, these efforts are expected to extend the mission launch window to the second half of 2026. As of September 30, 2025, this contract was approximately 80% complete. As of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the contract loss provision recorded in contract liabilities, current was $7.9 million and $7.0 million, respectively, and $0.4 million and zero, respectively, in contract liabilities, non-current in our condensed consolidated balance sheets.
Lunaria One has received an Overseas Payload Permit from the Australian Government, authorising the overseas launch of its ALEPH-1 payload aboard Intuitive Machines’ NOVA-C lunar lander.Lunaria One understands this to be the first time an Australian payload has been issued an Overseas Payload Permit for travel to the Moon.With regulatory approval in place, the ALEPH-1 payload is progressing through final qualification testing, led by RMIT University, Lunaria One’s lead technical partner. These activities are focused on verifying the payload’s readiness for the conditions of launch and the lunar environment.The ALEPH project is supported by a $3.6 million grant from the Australian Space Agency through the Moon to Mars Demonstrator Mission Grants, part of the national Moon to Mars initiative, which supports the development and maturation of space technologies and the growth of sovereign capability across Australia’s space sector and adjacent industries. The ALEPH-1 mission will demonstrate technologies designed to support and sustain a plant payload in the lunar environment.Payload integration with Intuitive Machines in the United States is planned for early next year, following completion of the remaining test programme, ahead of a lunar launch expected later in the year.“This approval marks an important transition point for the project,” said Lauren Fell, Director of Lunaria One. “As final testing is being completed, our focus is on ensuring the payload is ready for integration and the journey ahead.”
