Houston-based Intuitive Machines is tightening its grip on the Moon, teaming up with Italian aerospace heavyweights Leonardo and Telespazio to build shared communications and navigation services for future lunar missions. The idea is straightforward but ambitious: connect U.S. and European systems so both robots and astronauts can swap data and navigation fixes while working on the lunar surface.
Leonardo said the agreement sets up a framework to push interoperability between Telespazio’s European Lunar Communication and Navigation System (LCNS), which is part of ESA’s Moonlight program, and Intuitive Machines’ Space Data Network (SDN), the backbone for NASA’s Near Space Network Services.
