A New Mission to the Moon Is Set, But Can We Just Not With the Space Garbage?

Intuitive Machines' IM-1 mission is set to launch from NASA ’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday at 12:57 a.m. ET .

The Houston -based company's Nova-C lander is packed with science and technology instruments for NASA , as well as some commercial payloads that have no place on the Moon.

NASA is funding these commercial lunar missions to enable regular cargo delivery services, with plans to be a frequent customer for Moon transportation.

Odysseus is just the first of three Nova -C landers Intuitive Machines plans to send to the Moon this year , and Astrobotic was already looking forward to its next lunar lander the day after its first one failed. With big plans to turn the Moon into a space hub and launchpad for further destinations in space, it is certain that the lunar environment is about to undergo a massive transformation. Hopefully companies and space agencies alike will tread carefully as to not mess with the Moon too much, but it’s clear that we may need some guidelines in place fairly soon..