Houston space tech co. rolls out futuristic lunar rover for NASA's Artemis missions

to the moon

Intuitive Machine unveiled its RACER lunar terrain vehicle at Space Center Houston. Photo courtesy of Intuitive Machines

Houston-based space exploration company Intuitive Machines just unveiled its version of a lunar terrain vehicle that’s designed to be used by astronauts in NASA’s Artemis moon discovery program.

Intuitive Machine recently rolled out its RACER lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) at Space Center Houston. RACER stands for Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover.

The rover can accommodate two astronauts and nearly 900 pounds of cargo. In addition, it can pull a trailer loaded with almost 1,800 pounds of cargo.

Intuitive Machines will retain ownership and operational capabilities that will enable remote operation of the LTV between Artemis missions for about 10 years.

NASA chose Intuitive Machines and two other companies to develop advanced LTV capabilities.

“The objective is to enable Artemis astronauts, like the Apollo-era moonwalkers before them, to drive the rover, which features a rechargeable electric battery and a robotic arm, across the lunar surface, to conduct scientific research and prepare for human missions to Mars,” Intuitive Machines says in a post on its website.

The company tapped the expertise of Apollo-era moonwalkers Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt to design the pickup-truck-sized RACER. Intuitive Machines engineered the LTV in partnership with Atlas Devices, AVL, Barrios, Boeing, CSIRO, FUGRO, Michelin, Northrop Grumman, and Roush.

“This [project] strategically aligns with the Company’s flight-proven capability to deliver payloads to the surface of the Moon under [NASA’s] Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, further solidifying our position as a proven commercial contractor in lunar exploration,” says Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines.

Astronauts at NASA’s Johnson Space Center are testing the static prototype of the company’s LTV. Meanwhile, the fully electric mobile demonstration LTV will undergo field testing later this month near Meteor Crater National Park in Arizona.

NASA expects to choose an LTV provider or providers in 2025.

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Per the contract, Intuitive Machines will provide near space communications and navigation services for NASA. Photo via NASA.gov

Houston space co. secures $4.8B NASA contract to provide communications, navigation services

near space exploration

Houston-based space exploration, infrastructure, and services company Intuitive Machines has snagged a deal with NASA that could be worth more than $4 billion.

Under the contract, Intuitive Machines (Nasdaq: LUNR, LUNRW) will supply communication and navigation services for missions in the “near space” region, which extends from the earth’s surface to beyond the moon.

The five-year deal includes an option to add five years to the contract. In total, the contract could be worth $4.82 billion. The initial round of NASA funding runs from October 2024 through September 2029.

“This contract marks an inflection point in Intuitive Machines’ leadership in space communications and navigation,” Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, says in a news release.

Under the deal, the company will deploy lunar relay satellites and provide communication and navigation services that play a role in NASA’s Artemis campaign to establish a long-term presence on the moon.

A highlight of the contract is the debut of Intuitive Machines’ lunar satellite constellation, a service that the company “believes is a strategic element in its vision to commercialize lunar activities.” The constellation will deliver data and transmission services and enable autonomous operations.

Earlier this month, Intuitive Machines secured its fourth contract with NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, program. The $116.9 million agreement will task Intuitive Machines with delivering six science and technology payloads, which will include one European Space Agency-led drill suite to the Moon’s South Pole.

Additionally in August, Intuitive Machines signed a deal with Houston-based launch services company SEOPS to offer lunar rideshare services. Under the deal, Intuitive Machines will enable SEOPS to deliver customers' payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as to Lagrange points and geostationary transfer orbits.

Need a ride to the moon? Two Houston companies are working on developing lunar rideshare services. Photo via intuitivemachines.com

2 Houston companies collaborating to develop lunar rideshare services

need a ride?

Houston-based space exploration company Intuitive Machines soon will be the Uber of space.

Intuitive Machines has signed a deal with Houston-based launch services company SEOPS to offer lunar rideshare services. Under the deal, Intuitive Machines will enable SEOPS to deliver customers' payloads to the surface of the moon, as well as to Lagrange points and geostationary transfer orbits. Essentially, this will let SEOPS hitch a ride on missions already planned by Intuitive Machines.

As NASA explains, spacecraft occupy Lagrange points between the earth and moon as “parking lots” so they can stay in a fixed position while conserving fuel. And according to the European Space Agency, transfer orbits “are a special kind of orbit used to get from one orbit to another.”

“Intuitive Machines’ rideshare capacity not only satisfies a growing market need, but it’s completely in our wheelhouse — leveraging our expertise in solving complex launch challenges for our customers,” Chad Brinkley, CEO of SEOPS, says in a news release. “It makes financial sense to take advantage of the excess capacity on Intuitive Machines’ lunar missions, while also supporting our customers' goals for lunar exploration.”

Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus says the SEOPS deal underscores the aspirations of the space industry.

“SEOPS entrusting us with the delivery of its customers’ payloads to space highlights our capabilities to provide the essential infrastructure and services that support all groundbreaking commercial ambitions in space,” Altemus says.

Speaking of groundbreaking developments, Intuitive Machines recently pinned down a landing site for its sold-out mission to the South Pole. The mission will prospect for water ice.

NASA calls water ice “a valuable resource” for exploration of the moon, as it could provide drinking water, cool equipment, and generate fuel and oxygen.

The more than 650-foot-in-diameter South Pole landing site, chosen by Intuitive Machines and NASA, sits on the Shackleton connecting ridge. The ridge connects two craters.

NASA says the Shackleton ridge receives enough sunlight to power a lander for a roughly 10-day mission while offering a clear line of sight for satellite communications.

The mission, featuring an Intuitive Machines lander and NASA ice-mining equipment, is set for late 2024. The work must take place between November 2024 and January 2025 to capitalize on ideal conditions.

“A sold-out commercial and civil government mission early in our commercialization roadmap validates our approach to supporting an economy in deep space,” Altemus says in a news release. “Our expertise in landing site selection is world-class, and we believe the ability to identify landing areas with valuable resources will be essential to the future of the lunar economy.”

The scalable engine technology will be instrumental for Intuitive Machines' lunar missions. Photo courtesy of Intuitive Machines

Houston space tech company reaches major milestone for engine technology

fired up

A Houston company that's creating the next generation of space exploration technology is celebrating a new milestone of one of its technologies.

Intuitive Machines reports that its VR900 completed a full-duration hot-fire test, qualifying it for its IM-2 lunar mission. With the qualification, the company says its VR3500, an engine designed for larger cargo class landers, also advances in development.

The engine technology is designed, 3D-printed, and tested all at Intuitive Machines' Houston facility, which opened in the Houston Spaceport last year.

Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus says in a news release that the company's goal was to lead the way in scalable deep space engines as the industry heads toward lunar missions.

“This validated engine design meets current mission demand and paves the way for our VR3500 engine for cargo delivery such as lunar terrain vehicles, human spaceflight cargo resupply, and other infrastructure delivery," Altemus continues. "We believe we’re in a prime position to build on our successful development and apply that technology toward current contracts and future lunar requirements for infrastructure delivery.”

Earlier this year, Intuitive Machines was one of one of three companies selected for a $30 million NASA contract for the initial phase of developing a rover for U.S. astronauts to traverse the moon’s surface.

Another Houston company has seen success with its engine testing. In March, Venus Aerospace announced that it's successfully ran the first long-duration engine test of their Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine in partnership with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.

Intuitive Machines is one of three companies chosen by NASA to perform preliminary work on building a lunar terrain vehicle. Photo via NASA.org

NASA awards $30M to Houston space tech company to develop lunar rover

moon rider

Houston-based space technology company Intuitive Machines has landed a $30 million NASA contract for the initial phase of developing a rover for U.S. astronauts to traverse the moon’s surface.

Intuitive Machines is one of three companies chosen by NASA to perform preliminary work on building a lunar terrain vehicle that would enable astronauts to travel on the moon’s surface so they can conduct scientific research and prepare for human missions to Mars.

The two other companies are Golden, Colorado-based Lunar Outpost and Hawthorne, California-based Astrolab.

NASA plans to initially use the vehicle for its Artemis V lunar mission, which aims to put two astronauts on the moon. It would be the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 that astronauts would step foot on the lunar surface.

The Artemis V mission, tentatively set for 2029, will be the fifth mission under NASA’s Artemis program.

“This vehicle will greatly increase our astronauts’ ability to explore and conduct science on the lunar surface while also serving as a science platform between crewed missions,” says Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Intuitive Machines says the $30 million NASA contract represents its entrance into human spaceflight operations for the space agency’s $4.6 billion moon rover project. The vehicle — which Intuitive Machines has dubbed the Moon Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover (RACER) — will be based on the company’s lunar lander.

“Our global team is on a path to provide essential lunar infrastructure services to NASA in a project that would allow [us] to retain ownership of the vehicle for commercial utilization during periods of non-NASA activity over approximately 10 years of lunar surface activity,” says exploration,” says Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines.

Intuitive Machines’ partners on the RACER project include AVL, Boeing, Michelin, and Northrop Grumman.

Intuitive Machines plans to bid on the second phase of the rover project after finishing its first-phase feasibility study. The second phase will involve developing, delivering, and operating the rover.

In February, Intuitive Machines became the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon with no crewmembers aboard. NASA was the key customer for that mission.

Though landing with a weak signal, Intuitive Machines confirmed its lunar lander has successfully landed on the moon — the first United States moon touchdown in over 50 years. Photo via intuitivemachines.com

Houston space company's lunar lander touches down on the moon in historic mission

touchdown

A private lander on Thursday made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years, but managed just a weak signal back until flight controllers scrambled to gain better contact.

Despite the spotty communication, Intuitive Machines, the company that built and managed the craft, confirmed that it had landed upright. But it did not provide additional details, including whether the lander had reached its intended destination near the moon’s south pole. The company ended its live webcast soon after identifying a lone, weak signal from the lander.

“What we can confirm, without a doubt, is our equipment is on the surface of the moon,” mission director Tim Crain reported as tension built in the company’s Houston control center.

Added Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus: “I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface and we are transmitting. Welcome to the moon.”

Data was finally starting to stream in, according to a company announcement two hours after touchdown.

The landing put the U.S. back on the surface for the first time since NASA’s famed Apollo moonwalkers.

Intuitive Machines also became the first private business to pull off a lunar landing, a feat achieved by only five countries. Another U.S. company, Astrobotic Technology, gave it a shot last month, but never made it to the moon, and the lander crashed back to Earth. Both companies are part of a NASA-supported program to kick-start the lunar economy.

Astrobotic was among the first to relay congratulations. “An incredible achievement. We can’t wait to join you on the lunar surface in the near future,” the company said via X, formerly Twitter.

Intuitive Machines “aced the landing of a lifetime,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson tweeted.

The final few hours before touchdown were loaded with extra stress when the lander's laser navigation system failed. The company's flight control team had to press an experimental NASA laser system into action, with the lander taking an extra lap around the moon to allow time for the last-minute switch.

With this change finally in place, Odysseus descended from a moon-skimming orbit and guided itself toward the surface, aiming for a relatively flat spot among all the cliffs and craters near the south pole.

As the designated touchdown time came and went, controllers at the company's command center anxiously awaited a signal from the spacecraft some 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) away. After close to 15 minutes, the company announced it had received a weak signal from the lander.

Launched last week, the six-footed carbon fiber and titanium lander — towering 14 feet (4.3 meters) — carried six experiments for NASA. The space agency gave the company $118 million to build and fly the lander, part of its effort to commercialize lunar deliveries ahead of the planned return of astronauts in a few years.

Intuitive Machines' entry is the latest in a series of landing attempts by countries and private outfits looking to explore the moon and, if possible, capitalize on it. Japan scored a lunar landing last month, joining earlier triumphs by Russia, U.S., China and India.

The U.S. bowed out of the lunar landscape in 1972 after NASA's Apollo program put 12 astronauts on the surface. Astrobotic of Pittsburgh gave it a shot last month, but was derailed by a fuel leak that resulted in the lander plunging back through Earth's atmosphere and burning up.

Intuitive Machines’ target was 186 miles (300 kilometers) shy of the south pole, around 80 degrees latitude and closer to the pole than any other spacecraft has come. The site is relatively flat, but surrounded by boulders, hills, cliffs and craters that could hold frozen water, a big part of the allure. The lander was programmed to pick, in real time, the safest spot near the so-called Malapert A crater.

The solar-powered lander was intended to operate for a week, until the long lunar night.

Besides NASA’s tech and navigation experiments, Intuitive Machines sold space on the lander to Columbia Sportswear to fly its newest insulating jacket fabric; sculptor Jeff Koons for 125 mini moon figurines; and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for a set of cameras to capture pictures of the descending lander.

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Houston urban agricultural nonprofit gears up for opening of new farm in Second Ward

GROWING FOR GOOD

Small Places, a Houston-based urban agricultural nonprofit, is looking forward to putting down roots beyond the fresh vegetables they grow in the East End.

After securing a 40-year land agreement with Harris County, the organization, which provides produce to families facing food insecurity in the Second Ward, is expecting to open their new farm in February 2025. Small Places’ founders hope the 1.5 acres of land named Finca Tres Robles, located at 5715 Canal Street, will be the beginning of Houston’s urban farming movement.

Founded in 2014 by brothers Daniel, Mark, and Thomas Garcia-Prats, Small Places was born out of the latter brother’s desire to work on an organic farm in his hometown of Houston. After farming in Maine, Iowa, and Nicaragua, Thomas had hoped to manage an urban farm but was unable to find a place. He then roped his brothers, who had no agricultural background at the time, into creating one.

“I joke that my journey in agriculture started the day we started out there. We didn’t grow up gardening or farming or anything of the sort,” says Daniel, Small Places’ director of operations. “It was a big learning curve, but how we approached it to our benefit was through our diverse set of backgrounds.”

Small Places began their need-based produce distribution programs through a partnership with nearby pre-school, Ninfa Lorenzo Early Childhood Center, providing food insecure families with fresh produce and later cooking lessons in 2017. When COVID-19 hit Houston in 2020, Daniel says Small Places pivoted towards becoming a redistribution center for their farming contacts who needed to offload produce as restaurants shut down, selling their crops through the organization. Their neighborhood produce program was then born, providing free boxes of produce to nearly 200 families in the East End at the pandemic’s peak.

“We found ourselves in the middle of two communities who were in need, one being people in our community who were losing jobs and were in need of food as well as our farming connections who were losing restaurant accounts,” Daniel explains.

Small Places grows a variety of vegetables at their East End based farm, selling them at a weekly farm stand. (Photo courtesy Small Places)Small Places grows a variety of vegetables at their East End based farm, selling them at a weekly farm stand. (Photo courtesy Small Places)

Small Places currently assists 65 families living predominantly within two miles of their original location and they recently restarted their programming with Ninfa Lorenzo Early Childhood Center, and accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP) at their farm stand. Daniel says once Finca Tres Robles opens, Small Places plans to bring back cooking classes and educational seminars on healthy eating for which his brother Mark, a former teacher, created the original curriculum. The farm will also have a grocery store stocked with Finca Tres Robles' produce and eventually food staples from local vendors.

“Being social and preparing a meal can be fun, interesting, and delicious. Being able to pull all of that into a program was really important for us,” Daniel explains.

Farming successfully in the middle of Houston for their subsidized programs and produce market requires Small Places’ team to be strategic in their operations. Using his background in engineering and manufacturing, Daniel says they’ve closely monitored trends in which crops perform the best in Houston’s varied, humid climate over the past decade.

They also follow Thomas’s philosophy of allowing nature to work for them, planting crops at times when specific pests are minimal or integrating natural predators into their environment. And lots of composting. Daniel says they accept compostable materials from community members, before burying the raw organic matter in the earth in between their plant beds, allowing it to mature, then later using it to nourish their crops. Daniel says he and his co-founders hope to see more community-focused, sustainable operations like theirs spring up across Houston.

“Small Places is about hopefully more than one farm and really trying to turn urban agriculture and a farm like ours from a novel thing into something that’s just a part of communities and the fabric of Houston for generations to come,” Daniel says.

Houston female-focused health tech accelerator names top companies at annual event

you go girls

A Houston organization that accelerates and supports female founders leading innovative health tech startups has concluded its 2024 program with the announcement of this year's top companies.

Ignite Health, an accelerator founded in 2017 by longtime Houston health care professional Ayse McCracken, named its 2024 winners at its annual Fire Pitch Competition in Houston last month. The companies pitched health tech solutions across lung health, renal therapy, breastfeeding tech, and more.

"This year’s competition was a culmination of passion, innovation, and hard work from the top startups in our 2024 Accelerator Program," reads a LinkedIn post from Ignite. "These trailblazing founders earned their spot on the stage by demonstrating exceptional leadership and the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry with their solutions and devices."

First place winner was Sarah Lee, CEO and co-founder of Relavo, a New York-based company that's making home dialysis more effective, safer, and more affordable. Lee accepted awards from Johnson & Johnson and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Therese Canares, CEO and founder of CurieDx, took second place and won its awards from SWPDC - Southwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium and Wilson Sonsini. CurieDx, based in Baltimore, Maryland, is creating remote diagnostic tools using smartphone technology.

In third place is Andrea Ippolito, CEO and founder of SimpliFed, a company focused on democratizing access to baby feeding and breastfeeding services through virtual care that's covered by insurance. The startup won awards from Texas Children's Hospital and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Three other finalists won other awards, including:

  • Kadambari Beelwar, CEO and co-founder, Henderson, Nevada-based Truss Health, which created an AI-powered sensor fusion platform that's designed to detect early signs of infection, won an award presented by Memorial Hermann Health System and Golden Seeds
  • Mimi Gendreau Kigawa, CEO and co-founder of New York-based Zeph Technologies, an AI-lung care company with technology for clinicians to deliver pulmonary care to patients with chronic respiratory disease, won an award presented by CU Innovations and Houston Methodist
  • Ashley Yesayan, CEO and co-founder, New York-based OneVillage, a software platform meant to support patients and family members through trying health events, won an award presented by CU Innovations

The companies were evaluated by the 2024 judges, which included: Allison Rhines, head of JLABS Houston; Andrew Truscott, global health technology lead at Accenture; Angela Shippy, senior physician executive at Amazon Web Services; Kimberly Muller, executive director of CU Innovations at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Myra Davis, chief innovation and information officer at Texas Children's Hospital; and Winjie Tang Miao, senior executive vice president and COO of Texas Health Resources.

Houston expert: Balancing flexibility, accountability, and performance in a hybrid world

guest column

Amazon, Salesforce, and Nike are just a few companies making headlines in 2024 for requiring employees to return to the office.

At the same time, technology is evolving, automation and efficiency gains are taking center stage, and employees continue to seek greater flexibility. This has fueled the debate around the future of where work gets done in 2025 and beyond.

Proponents of a remote or hybrid work model believe it leads to increased employee productivity, higher job satisfaction, and access to a larger talent pool. Detractors have a different viewpoint – suggesting employee isolation is greater, cyber security concerns are more complex to manage, and it’s hard to accurately evaluate employee performance.

So, what’s the answer?

The future of work lies in harnessing the power of the employer/employee relationship. This involves establishing clear guidelines for what working “looks like” inside and outside the company, measuring performance tied to company goals, and holding leaders and employees accountable for how these interactions occur.

A remote work policy helps establish clear guidelines. For example, should business cameras be on for all meetings? What is considered an acceptable business casual dress code? Can pets be on screen? Addressing the issues around a remote workspace, how to interact during a meeting, and what to wear helps to define company expectations and how you would like your business to be represented.

Formal performance management tools and processes have been in place for decades. While an annual event is important, encouraging managers and employees to have regular and structured performance conversations and share transparent feedback (regardless of where they work) helps you celebrate what’s exceptionally good, acknowledge what’s on track, and quickly course correct when needed.

Accountability in the remote work environment goes both ways, and leaders must model the behaviors they expect from employees. When the rule is cameras on, that means everyone, regardless of their title. When you’ve established working hours, be available to take the call or respond to the Teams chat within a reasonable timeframe. And when you need to be away from work, set expectations for when and how to reach you.

So, where is the best place to start when updating or establishing guidelines? First, review your key business objectives and work out what’s required to support the successful achievement of those goals. Design your remote and/or hybrid model around those objectives and place employees at the forefront of that design.

If you think about it, it’s no different than being in the office. You expect your employees and managers to show up, be fully present, and hold themselves accountable. That should be the expectation no matter where you “sit.”

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Michelle Mikesell is the chief people officer at Houston-based G&A Partners.

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