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NASA awards Intuitive Machines $180.4M CLPS contract for IM-5 lunar South Pole lander

NASA awarded Intuitive Machines a $180.4 million CLPS contract for IM-5, a fifth commercial lunar-lander mission to deliver seven science and technology payloads to the lunar South Pole. The award boosts commercial lunar delivery cadence and underscores Intuitive Machines’ expanding role in lunar services.

Discovered 2026-03-25T02:20:34.037185-07:00 | 2026-03-25T02:20:34.037185-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

Contract and mission specifics: $180.4M CLPS award for IM-5 to deliver seven science/technology payloads to the lunar South Pole — a concrete, funded tasking that increases near-term commercial lunar activity.
Program-level context: The award aligns with NASA’s push to increase the cadence of robotic lunar landers, signaling sustained procurement and operational demand for commercial lunar logistics robotic lander cadence.
Company posture and risk: The contract leverages Intuitive Machines’ recent vertical-integration moves after its Lanteris acquisition Lanteris acquisition but comes after near-term revenue and cash-flow pressure reported earlier funding timing hit results.

Reported By

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