Space Startups Participating in Artemis: Intuitive Machines
NASA’s Artemis program is humanity’s most ambitious return to the Moon, and commercial partners like Intuitive Machines are playing a crucial supporting role in making it happen.
NASA awarded the Houston-based company $180.4 million to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, a program designed to leverage private sector capability in service of Artemis goals.
The partnership runs deep. Intuitive Machines was selected to help track the Artemis II Orion spacecraft using its Space Data Network, building on its work during Artemis I when it tracked the spacecraft to a record distance of over 270,000 miles from Earth.
On the lander side, the company has been learning fast. The IM-1 mission delivered the first American soft landing on the Moon in over 50 years. IM-2 tipped over at the lunar south pole but still returned valuable data to NASA scientists. IM-3 is now scheduled for the second half of 2026, targeting the Reiner Gamma region.
The business case is growing alongside the mission manifest. Intuitive Machines projects revenue between $900 million and $1 billion in fiscal 2026, backed by a backlog of roughly $943 million.
