ILOA Hawai’i precursor ILO-X payload

News Release | 4 October 2023 | Kamuela, Hawai’i, USA

• International Lunar Observatory Associacion (ILOA Hawai’i) precursor ILO-X payload is fully integrated aboard Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander, which is prepared to ship from Houston to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida for launch.

•  Flagship mission ILO-1, and backup ILO-2, are being developed for observation and communication from the Moon.

•  Precursor ILO-X mission consists of 2 small instruments which will be utilized for Milky Way Galaxy imaging, Invited Astronomy Observations, 21st Century Hawai’i Astronomy, Lunar Broadcasting, and it carries 37 images, artwork and a Moon Memorial / Contributors file.

•  The narrower field-of-view imager is named Ka ‘Imi (The Search), and ILOA is pleased to announce the opening of the naming rights campaign auction for the wide field-of-view imager.

International Lunar Observatory Association is pleased to have its precursor payload ILO-X be aboard the first USA lunar lander in over 50 years. Our crew is eager to participate in observation and communication from the Moon’s surface, and share the views and information with the 8 billion people of Earth.

As the ILO-X mission is the first Hawai’i Moon camera, its narrower field-of-view imager was named Ka ‘Imi (The Search) after a Hawai’i statewide naming contest for students. The wide field-of-view imager is now being auctioned for naming rights.

Funds collected will go toward the development of future Moon missions including ILO-1 and its ILO-2 backup which are planned for long-term observation, astrophysics and communication from the lunar surface with involvement from Canada, China, India and other international collaborators.

ILOA Hawai’i is an interglobal enterprise incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2007 with Aloha to expand human understanding of the cosmos through observation from the Moon.

Please direct any questions to ILOA Hawai’i.