NASA Selects Intuitive Machines Team to Develop Survive the Lunar Night Technology

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (Nasdaq: LUNR, LUNRW) (“Intuitive Machines”) or the (“Company”),
a leading space exploration, infrastructure, and services company, today announced
NASA’s Space Technology and Mission Directorate (STMD) has awarded a $15 million
Tipping Point initiative award to the Zeno Power-led team, including Intuitive Machines.
The award is for the development of a Radioisotope Power System (RPS) that may
enable lunar assets to survive and operate during the lunar night and in permanently
shadowed regions of the Moon.

Intuitive Machines has been designated approximately $2.4 million of the award to
assist Zeno Power in developing an interoperable americium-241 (Am-241) radioisotope
Sterling generator that may be integrated into lunar landers to enable it to survive the
lunar night cycle.

The lunar night cycle refers to the period of darkness on the Moon that lasts approximately
14 Earth days. During this time, temperatures on the lunar surface drop drastically,
reaching as low as -279 degrees Fahrenheit. By surviving the lunar night, missions on
the surface of the Moon could extend from two Earth weeks to several years.

“The ability to survive the lunar night is paramount to Intuitive Machines and the space
exploration community,” said Trent Martin, Intuitive Machines Vice President of Space
Systems. “NASA investing in mission longevity and the endurance of spacecraft paves
the way for uninterrupted scientific exploration, enabling future robotic and human
missions to unlock the mysteries of the lunar surface and propel humanity’s presence
in space to new frontiers.”

Through the Tipping Point solicitation, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate
seeks industry-developed space technologies that can foster the development
of commercial space capabilities and benefit future NASA missions. The publicprivate
partnerships established through Tipping Point selections combine NASA
resources with industry contributions, shepherding the development of critical space
technologies. NASA plans to leverage these innovations for its Artemis program,
which will establish sustainable operations on the Moon by the end of the decade in
preparation for an expedition to Mars.

The Zeno Power-led team’s goal is to develop flight-ready technology for a 2027 lunar
surface demonstration.