(Toronto, ON – Thursday, March 17, 2022) The International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA Hawai’i) and Canadensys Aerospace Corporation are pleased to announce the ILO-X lunar payload has been delivered to Intuitive Machines, Nova-C spacecraft provider. The ILO-X dual-imagers are now undergoing pre-launch checkout in Houston, Texas, as part of the integration on the IM-1 lunar lander, which is scheduled for launch to the Moon in 2022 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Steve Durst, ILOA Founding Director, stated from the ILOA Headquarters in Hawaii “We look forward to seeing the Galaxy First Light images from the ILO-X instruments when it arrives on the Moon, after many years of work with Canadensys and the other members of our team.” Frank Teti, General Manager of the Canadensys facility in Toronto, Canada which designed and manufactured the instruments added “This project has captured the imagination of our entire team. It is very exciting to see the ILO-X hardware being readied for launch.”
As another precursor to ILOA’s flagship observatory ILO-1, the first of which was an MoU collaboration with National Astronomical Observatories of China for Chang’e-3 LUT, the ILOA ILO-X will operate for one lunar day at a mid-latitude location on the Moon. It has been designed to capture the first images of the Milky Way Galactic Center from the surface of the Moon, and provide operational demonstration of some of the key elements that will be used on the ILO-1. ILO-1 will be a permanent observatory located on Malapert Mountain near the Moon South Pole, and is being designed to withstand the cryogenic cycling during periods of lunar night. Both ILO-X and ILO-1 will be capable of astronomical and Earth observations as well as and lunar surface imaging.
ILOA has chosen Canadensys Aerospace as a prime contractor for both the ILO-X and ILO-1 instruments. Christian Sallaberger, President & CEO of Canadensys Aerospace said “Canadensys proudly supports ILOA in advancing its vision of observation and communication from the Moon South Pole. These observatories will observe the cosmos as well as document human activities on the local lunar surface. This will provide an interglobal perspective back to Earth from the Moon as humanity pushes out into the solar system and the Galaxy beyond.”
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About International Lunar Observatory Association
ILOA is an interglobal enterprise incorporated in Hawaii as a non-profit in 2007 to help realize the multifunctional ILO for long-term astronomy, science and exploration at the Moon South Pole, and to participate in human lunar base build-out – with Aloha. ILOA also has, since 2008, co-sponsored with its Space Age Publishing Company affiliate an international series of 100+ Galaxy Forums to date.
About Canadensys Aerospace Corporation
Canadensys Aerospace Corporation is a space systems and advanced vehicle development company founded on the heritage and expertise that spans a number of Canada’s historic space achievements of the last three decades. We blend our innovative space hardware capabilities with smart, ruggedized vehicle designs to develop unique solutions for planetary, orbital and terrestrial environments based on modern, commercial business approaches to space program and mission development.
For additional information, please contact:
Amanda Fruci
647-998-2737