What to know: Intuitive Machine's lunar lander 2 (IM-2) is set to launch to the moon tonight from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A.
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As for the main mission tonight, the IM-2 lander will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This is the follow-up mission to the Intuitive Machines-1 (IM-1) lunar lander, Odysseus, which became in February 2024 the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since Apollo 17, but tipped over after landing.
If all goes well, Intuitive Machines 2 (IM-2) would land on the moon on March 6 in area known as Mons Mouton.
There is still much that remains unknown about the moon, especially when it comes to the south pole. This is where NASA plans to land astronauts during the Artemis III mission no earlier than 2027, should that remain the plan with the new administration.
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IM-2 is packed with science and technology experiments, however the main experiment onboard is NASA's PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1) drill and mass spectrometer. The lander will use the drill and mass spectrometer to search for volatiles suspected to be in lunar regolith − which can quickly change from solid to liquid to gas. There is strong evidence for water ice in the shaded craters of the lunar south pole.
