WASHINGTON — Intuitive Machines and SpaceX have confirmed plans to launch the IM-1 lunar lander mission as soon as Feb. 14, pending a fueling test on the pad later this week.

華盛頓——Intuitive Machines 和 SpaceX 已確認計劃最早於 2 月 14 日發射 IM-1 月球著陸器任務，等待本週晚些時候在著陸器上進行的加油測試。

In a Feb. 5 statement, Intuitive Machines announced it was targeting a launch of its lander in a “multi-day window” that opens Feb. 14. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A is scheduled for 12:57 a.m. Eastern that day.

Intuitive Machines 在2 月5 日的聲明中宣布，其目標是在2 月14 日開啟的「多日窗口」內發射著陸器。獵鷹9 號計劃於12 點57 分從甘迺迪太空中心39A 發射場升空當天東部時間上午。

The announcement came hours after a SpaceX official, speaking at a briefing about the upcoming launch of NASA’s PACE Earth science mission on another Falcon 9, confirmed that Feb. 14 date, which had been widely known in the industry but which neither NASA nor Intuitive Machines would disclose at a Jan. 31 briefing about the agency’s payloads on the lander.

幾個小時前，SpaceX 的一名官員在關於NASA 即將在另一架獵鷹9 號上發射PACE 地球科學任務的簡報會上發表講話，確認了2 月14 日的日期，這一日期在業界廣為人知，但NASA 和Intuitive Machines 都沒有透露。將在 1 月 31 日的簡報會上披露該機構在著陸器上的有效載荷。

“Our Intuitive Machines launch is targeting Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day,” said Julianna Scheiman, director of civil satellite missions at SpaceX, at the Feb. 5 briefing. “We’re tracking well to a Feb. 14 launch.”

「我們的直覺機器發射目標是 2 月 14 日情人節，」SpaceX 民用衛星任務主管朱莉安娜·謝曼 (Julianna Scheiman) 在 2 月 5 日的新聞發布會上表示。 “我們正在順利追踪 2 月 14 日的發布。”

One final milestone before that launch is a fueling test, or wet dress rehearsal, scheduled for Feb. 7. That is important for IM-1 since the lander needs to be loaded with liquid oxygen and methane propellants while on the launch pad shortly before launch, a procedure that required modifications to the infrastructure at LC-39A.

發射前的最後一個里程碑是定於 2 月 7 日進行的加油測試或濕裝彩排。這對 IM-1 很重要，因為著陸器需要在發射前不久在發射台上裝載液態氧和甲烷推進劑，該程式需要修改LC-39A 的基礎設施。

“We’ll be performing essentially a tanking test, or wet dress rehearsal, for that spacecraft on Feb. 7,” she said, to confirm that the spacecraft can be fueled on the pad.

她說：“我們將在 2 月 7 日對該航天器進行一次儲罐測試，或者說濕裝彩排，以確認該航天器可以在發射台上加油。”

While Intuitive Machines said in its statement that it had a multi-day window, Scheiman said the mission had a three-day window, with launch opportunities Feb. 14 through 16. Intuitive Machines previously stated that a launch any day in that window would set up a landing attempt on Feb. 22.

雖然Intuitive Machines 在其聲明中表示，它有一個多天的窗口，但Scheiman 表示，該任務有一個為期三天的窗口，發射機會為2 月14 日至16 日。Intuitive Machines 先前表示，該窗口內的任何一天的發射都將設定2月22日進行了一次著陸嘗試。

The 675-kilogram lander, called Odysseus by the company, is carrying six payloads for NASA through a Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) award valued at $118 million. It is also carrying six commercial payloads, ranging from sportswear company Columbia to artist Jeff Koons. The commercial payloads also include Eaglecam, a camera developed by students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University that will eject from the lander during its final descent to the surface to attempt to photograph the landing.

這艘重 675 公斤的著陸器被該公司稱為“奧德修斯”，透過價值 1.18 億美元的商業月球有效載荷服務 (CLPS) 合同，為 NASA 運載了 6 個有效載荷。它還攜帶六個商業有效載荷，從運動服裝公司哥倫比亞到藝術家傑夫昆斯。商業有效載荷還包括 Eaglecam，這是一款由安柏里德航空大學學生開發的相機，它將在著陸器最終下降到地面時從著陸器中彈出，以嘗試拍攝著陸過程。

If IM-1 is successful, it will be the first private mission to land softly on the moon after three previous failed attempts. The Beresheet lander by Israel’s SpaceIL crashed during its descent to the lunar surface in 2019, and the HAKUTO-R M1 lander from Japanese company ispace crashed attempting a landing in April 2023. Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander suffered a propellant leak hours after its Jan. 8 launch that prevented the spacecraft from attempting a lunar landing.

如果 IM-1 成功，這將是繼三次嘗試失敗後首次在月球上軟著陸的私人任務。以色列SpaceIL 的Beresheet 登陸器於2019 年降落到月球表面時墜毀，日本ispace 公司的HAKUTO-R M1 登陸器於2023 年4 月在嘗試著陸時墜毀。Astrobotic 的Peregrine 月球著陸器在1 月8 日發射數小時後遭遇推進劑洩漏。發射阻止了太空船嘗試登陸月球。