AIAA Statement on the IM-1 Mission
February 22, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) CEO Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:
“Congratulations to the IM-1 mission team on the successful soft landing at the south pole of the moon! We were thrilled watching the Odysseus lander’s journey to the lunar surface unfold in real time. Today marks a truly historic space exploration milestone due to the unique government-industry collaboration between NASA and Intuitive Machines. We are eagerly following the mission’s progress in the coming days.
As the world’s largest technical society for aerospace professionals, our members appreciate and understand the difficulty of this mission’s engineering challenges targeting a landing in the moon’s south pole region. It’s vital to gain engineering and science data from this uncrewed mission as a precursor to Artemis returning Americans to the lunar surface in the coming years.
We were honored to hear from the Intuitive Machines team just last week at our ASCENDxTexas event in Houston, 14–15 February. The innovators at Intuitive Machines and their partners have chronicled the development of their mission, including the spacecraft, flight software, and camera, by authoring articles for AIAA peer-reviewed journals, as well as presenting meeting papers at AIAA forums and ASCEND events. Their technological progress has been published in AIAA’s Aerospace Research Central (ARC) at arc.aiaa.org, the leading source of aerospace industry archives. These noteworthy publications provide valuable insight into their preparation for this day:
- Image-Based Lunar Terrain Relative Navigation Without a Map: Measurements, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 2020
- Stereo Camera Simulation for Lunar Surface Photogrammetry, AIAA SciTech Forum, AIAA 2021-0358,2021
- Design of a Lunar Plume-Surface Interaction Measurement System, AIAA SciTech Forum, AIAA 2022-1693, 2022
We’re witnessing somewhat of a lunar renaissance. Multiple missions from companies and governments are advancing the development of a sustainable cislunar ecosystem and economy. We appreciate the transparency and ongoing public communication throughout the missions. It is heartening that these missions are also capturing the imagination of the general public around the world, as everyone on Earth benefits from exploring our moon.
On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we recognize the numerous aerospace industry professionals involved in making this mission a success. We salute and applaud the entire IM-1 team for shaping the future of aerospace.”
AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, RebeccaG@AIAA.org, 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Video
Intuitive Machines Lunar Landing on NASATV 22 Feb. 2024
(NASA TV; YouTube)
Banner Image: NASA simulation showing Intuitive Machine’s Lunar Lander, Odysseus, descending toward the surface of the moon on Thursday, February 22. | NASA TV; YouTube; framegrab
