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.

华盛顿——Intuitive Machines 和 SpaceX 已确认计划最早于 2 月 14 日发射 IM-1 月球着陆器任务，等待本周晚些时候在着陆器上进行的加油测试。

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 日的一份声明中宣布，其目标是在 2 月 14 日开启的“多日窗口”内发射着陆器。猎鹰 9 号计划于 12 点 57 分从肯尼迪航天中心 39A 发射场升空那天东部时间上午。

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.

几小时前，SpaceX 的一名官员在关于 NASA 即将在另一架猎鹰 9 号上发射 PACE 地球科学任务的简报会上发表讲话，确认了 2 月 14 日的日期，这一日期在业界广为人知，但 NASA 和 Intuitive Machines 都没有透露。将在 1 月 31 日的简报会上披露该机构在着陆器上的有效载荷。

“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.”

“我们的直觉机器发射目标是 2 月 14 日情人节，”SpaceX 民用卫星任务主管朱莉安娜·谢曼 (Julianna Scheiman) 在 2 月 5 日的新闻发布会上表示。 “我们正在顺利追踪 2 月 14 日的发布。”

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.

发射前的最后一个里程碑是定于 2 月 7 日进行的加油测试或湿装彩排。这对 IM-1 很重要，因为着陆器需要在发射前不久在发射台上装载液氧和甲烷推进剂，该程序需要修改 LC-39A 的基础设施。

“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.

她说：“我们将在 2 月 7 日对该航天器进行一次储罐测试，或者说湿装彩排，以确认该航天器可以在发射台上加油。”

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.

虽然 Intuitive Machines 在其声明中表示，它有一个多天的窗口，但 Scheiman 表示，该任务有一个为期三天的窗口，发射机会为 2 月 14 日至 16 日。Intuitive Machines 此前表示，该窗口内的任何一天的发射都将设置2月22日进行了一次着陆尝试。

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.

这艘重 675 公斤的着陆器被该公司称为“奥德修斯”，通过价值 1.18 亿美元的商业月球有效载荷服务 (CLPS) 合同，为 NASA 运载了 6 个有效载荷。它还携带六个商业有效载荷，从运动服装公司哥伦比亚到艺术家杰夫·昆斯。商业有效载荷还包括 Eaglecam，这是一款由安柏里德航空大学学生开发的相机，它将在着陆器最终下降到地面时从着陆器中弹出，以尝试拍摄着陆过程。

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，这将是继三次尝试失败后首次在月球上软着陆的私人任务。以色列 SpaceIL 的 Beresheet 着陆器于 2019 年降落到月球表面时坠毁，日本 ispace 公司的 HAKUTO-R M1 着陆器于 2023 年 4 月在尝试着陆时坠毁。Astrobotic 的 Peregrine 月球着陆器在 1 月 8 日发射数小时后遭遇推进剂泄漏。发射阻止了航天器尝试登陆月球。