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https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2024/04/04/intuitive-machines-lands-nasa-lunar-vehicle-award.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_27&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s

Intuitive Machines lands part of $4.6B NASA lunar vehicle award

By Jishnu Nair – Reporter, Houston Business Journal
Apr 4, 2024

The Houston space company that made history this year could be playing a key role in NASA’s manned return to the moon.

Intuitive Machines Inc. (Nasdaq: LUNR) was named as one of three recipients for NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract, which has a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion for all awards to multiple companies. For Intuitive Machines, the initial award is valued at $30 million for a feasibility assessment, which will take a year to complete.

The vehicle will be used for NASA's Artemis III mission, which is the agency's first return to the moon since 1972. That mission is anticipated to launch no earlier than 2026. Intuitive Machines' initial award could be followed by further task orders with higher dollar amounts for a term of up to 10 years, the company said April 3.

“This procurement strategically aligns with the company’s flight-proven capability to deliver payloads to the surface of the moon under the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, further solidifying our position as a proven commercial contractor in lunar exploration,” Intuitive Machines CEO Stephen Altemus said in a news release.

Altemus also confirmed that the potential lunar terrain vehicle, or LTV, would be usable for non-NASA purposes as the contract allows Intuitive Machines to keep ownership. Trent Martin, vice president of space systems at Intuitive Machines, said the vehicle can also be controlled both by astronauts and remotely.

"Since we anticipate being able to drive the vehicle remotely from our control room in Houston, we could either perform services for commercial customers or even launch and land commercial payloads from the Earth to the moon and then use the LTV to deploy or perform activities on the moon with the LTV," Martin told the HBJ via email. "NASA will pay for services, both with astronauts driving and with remote operations, but they will not use the LTV the entire time."

Intuitive Machines will be producing the contract through its Moon Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover, or Moon RACER, program. The developing craft has the model number Nova-D, and Intuitive Machines selected Austrian-based AVL, Virginia-based The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and Virginia-based Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) as partners. The program was announced in the first quarter of 2023.