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SpaceRadar | Payload Selection Tool

Micro Nova hopping Lander (µNova)

Company Name: Intuitive Machines & Arizona State University (ASU), USA

Potentially available for future missions 

Planned Mission(s): Intuitive Machines Mission 2 (IM-2)

First Mission Launch: Late 2023

Payload Delivery Locations: First mission planned to land at Lunar South Pole 

First Mission Lander: Nova-C Lander

Rover Mass: To Be Announced

Rover Dimensions: 76.2 cm in length, width and height. 

Rover Mobility: Carry 1kg for more than 2.5 km. Capable of travelling up to 25 km from its host lander. 

Payload Bay - Available Mass: For the first mission design, Micro-Nova can carry a 1-kg payload. Otherwise, it can carry up to 5 kg.

Power Source Type: Solar panels

Communications Available: Relay communications by sending the data back to Nova-C lander

Expected Working Duration: To Be Announced

First Mission Rover Manifest: 

It has its own propulsion, and navigation sensors.

Micro-Nova has a camera and will be equipped to provide high-resolution stereo images in areas that are in direct sunlight, which will also enable detailed engineering and science planning for future missions. The hopper will also measure the temperature of the PSR (Permanently Shadowed Regions), which will be very cold. 

The µNova payload will separate from the Nova-C lander after landing and function as a standalone hopper lander, exploring multiple difficult-to-reach areas such as deep craters on the lunar surface.

Last Updated on August 2022

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