Psionic Selected by Intuitive Machines to Provide Precision Terminal Navigation for Four Lunar Lander Missions
Space Navigation Doppler Lidar to fly as the primary velocity and range sensor on Nova‑C landers supporting NASA’s CLPS initiative
HAMPTON, Va., September 29, 2026 — Psionic announces a production contract with Intuitive Machines, a space infrastructure, technology, and services leader, to deliver Psionic’s Space Navigation Doppler Lidar-Lander (PSNDL-L) units for the company’s next four lunar lander missions.
This award places Psionic’s sensor in the terminal descent navigation chain of a lander line transitioning from single‑mission builds to standardized, repeatable production. It extends a partnership that began with lunar flight operations and now spans multiple Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) missions supporting NASA’s Artemis campaign. With these missions, Psionic’s navigation technology is now slated to support over 60% of all CLPS mission customers awarded to date, underscoring the growing role of PSNDL in commercial lunar exploration.
Precision Navigation, Measured Directly
Landing accuracy begins with the sensor. PSNDL directly measures line-of-sight velocity and range relative to the lunar surface. The system delivers:
- Three‑axis velocity accuracy better than 2 cm/s
- Range accuracy better than 1 meter
- Continuous updates through terminal descent
- Coherent detection that rejects background noise and interference
These capabilities allow landers to reduce landing ellipses from kilometers to within meters, enabling precise placement near scientific targets, prior assets, and shadowed regions of interest.
PSNDL is derived from NASA Langley’s precision landing portfolio and industrialized by Psionic for production rate, mass, power, and radiation environment. The design is qualified for lunar descent and adaptable across landers, rovers, and proximity‑operations missions.
Built for Cadence
Intuitive Machines is scaling Nova‑C from bespoke spacecraft to a production line, requiring suppliers to deliver consistent hardware at rate. Psionic has structured PSNDL‑L production accordingly, with common configurations, vertically integrated photonics, and a build cadence matched to IM’s manifest. “Precision landing is the enabling capability for everything that follows on the lunar surface — infrastructure, resource access, and sustained operations,” said William Cook, Senior Vice President of Space at Psionic. “Intuitive Machines is building the transport layer for that economy at a cadence no one has attempted before. Our commitment is simple: the navigation sensor is never the constraint — same performance, every unit, every mission.”
“Our space infrastructure is designed to scale with the pace of Moon Base,” said Tim Crain, co-founder and CTO of Intuitive Machines. “Landing accurately and repeatably is critical. Standardizing a flight‑proven Doppler lidar across the Nova‑C line strengthens the descent architecture our customers rely on to stay longer and achieve more on the Moon.”
Supporting the Artemis Campaign
IM’s CLPS missions will deliver science instruments, technology demonstrations, and infrastructure payloads to expand NASA’s operational sites on the Moon. Precision landing ensures payloads reach specific geologic features, shadowed regions, and locations near prior assets — critical for sustained lunar presence.
About Psionic
Psionic specializes in coherent Doppler lidar navigation for landers, spacecraft, rovers, and dual-use autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. Its PSNDL product line provides simultaneous three‑axis velocity and range sensing in environments where GPS is unavailable and passive optical navigation fails. Psionic holds the exclusive commercial license to NASA’s Navigation Doppler Lidar technology and manufactures in Hampton, Virginia. Psionic is proud to be part of the majority of all CLPS missions.
