How to watch Intuitive Machines’ historic moon lander launch
Space fans all around the world are preparing for yet another historic space mission. This time around, Intuitive Machines will launch its Nova-C lander to the moon, giving the company the chance to become the first U.S. lunar lander since Apollo. Here’s how to watch it happen live.
Now, of course, being able to attend such a historic launch in person would be ideal. However, it isn’t feasible for many of us to travel to watch the launch happen in person. Thankfully, NASA and others will be streaming the entire thing. Additionally, the Nova-C lander will be the first to include Columbia’s Omni-Heat technology aboard the lander.
The current launch window for the Nova-C lander is February 14 to February 16. Liftoff is currently scheduled for 12:57 a.m. EST on February 14. NASA will begin livestreaming the launch at 12:15 a.m. EST, roughly 20 to 30 minutes before the official launch.
Assuming everything goes off without a hitch, the IM-1 mission should be well on its way to the moon before many people get out of bed in the morning on Valentine’s Day.
This launch is especially important because it has the potential to be the first U.S. lunar lander to land on the moon since the Apollo program ended over 50 years ago. Peregrine was previously the most likely to achieve this goal. However, the lander experienced issues after launch, and Peregrine ended up burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere upon reentry.
NASA will live stream the event on the official NASA TV app, as well as on YouTube via the embedded video above. The Nova-C lander will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. As such, SpaceX will also host a livestream of the launch on X (formerly Twitter), and Intuitive Machines will host a livestream on its mission site, too.