Mission Summary
IM-3 is Intuitive Machines’ third lunar landing mission, planned to set a Nova-C lander down at Reiner Gamma, one of the Moon’s mysterious swirls, bright markings tied to patches of magnetism on the surface. Flying under NASA’s commercial lunar program, it is targeted for the second half of 2026.
The mission’s centerpiece is Lunar Vertex, a paired lander-and-rover investigation that will measure the local magnetic field and plasma environment to learn how the swirls form. IM-3 will also carry NASA’s CADRE team of small cooperative rovers, a European laser reflector, and other payloads, along with a data-relay satellite for the company’s growing lunar communications network.
If successful, IM-3 would deliver the most varied payload yet to a single commercial lander and take on one of the Moon’s long-standing puzzles. It continues the steady cadence of commercial deliveries meant to build routine access to the lunar surface.
Sources and notes can be found on the Sources page.
