SpaceX scores a lunar lander contract from Intuitive Machines as it continues to make strides in space ventures. The company has also become the go-to company for NASA for sending astronauts to the ISS. Talking about their latest contract the company plans to launch an IM-2 lunar lander using a Falcon 9 rocket. They plan to do it in or after 2022. This is great news for the company as they continue to land new contracts and continue to grow. Just a while back SpaceX also sent 4 astronauts to the ISS on behalf of NASA.
More on the lunar lander contract
The CEO of Intuitive Machines said that their reason for hiring SpaceX for the lunar lander mission was for a quality landing and mission. Intuitive machines also say that the idea of launching their payload using a reliable rocket is of great assurance. In the mission, the IM-2 launched by SpaceX will drill the surface of the moon to look for water under the surface. It has already been confirmed that water is present on the surface of the moon that receives sunlight. And the aim of the mission will be to dig even deeper and gather as much info as possible.
IM is one of the few companies that has received contracts from NASA for space missions. The company said as they make more trips to the moon and back their technology will improve. But for this, the company needs to have a reliable service that can take them there. And there comes SpaceX with their reliable services, quality rockets, and latest technology. In the words of SpaceX’s Vice president of sales Tom Ochinero, “These missions, in partnership with NASA, will help further the goal of extending humanity’s reach beyond Earth”.
SpaceX’s most recent mission
SpaceX’s recent mission was to take 4 astronauts to the International Space Station. The company’s crew dragon rocket that was launched on 15th November 2020 took the astronauts to ISS making history. Never before there were 7 astronauts in the Internation Space Station at the same time. The company’s partnership with NASA was also very beneficial for the US. This is because earlier the US used to depend on Russia to send astronauts to the ISS and that used to cost $80 million per seat. But, now the cost has been reduced to $55 million per seat under SpaceX.
The crew dragon rocket is also the first private company rocket to get permitted for crewed missions to Space. Even in the future, we are going to see a lot of SpaceX and NASA collaborations making big strides in space ventures. And for now, there are no other US companies even close to SpaceX that can steal any of their contracts.
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