As humanity accelerates its return to the Moon, Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd is at the forefront of this new era, providing critical communications support for the Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission, one of several key lunar missions it will be supporting in 2025. These missions are not just exploratory – they are foundational steps towards building a sustainable lunar economy, supporting infrastructure that will enable future human and robotic activity on the Moon.
The Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:16 p.m. ET, February 26, 2025. The Nova-C class lunar lander, Athena, reached her intended orbit approximately 44 minutes later and established first communication at approximately 8:17 p.m. ET. The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and attempts the first in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) demonstration near the lunar south pole. Goonhilly will provide mission-critical communications from launch through landing.
By validating the feasibility of extracting and processing water ice on the Moon, this mission is laying the groundwork for lunar fuel production, life support, and the future of deep space exploration.
Athena will also deliver Nokia’s Lunar Surface Communication System (“LSCS”), which aims to demonstrate the capability of a 4G/LTE cellular network on the Moon for future lunar exploration.
As both public and private missions push towards long-term lunar presence, reliable terrestrial to lunar communications are the backbone of sustainable infrastructure, but government network capacity has struggled to keep pace with demand. With its proven expertise in deep space communications, Goonhilly has become a go-to commercial partner for government agencies and commercial lunar ventures alike – including ESA and Intuitive Machines.
"As the space industry continues to rapidly evolve, Goonhilly is playing a key role in shaping the lunar economy," said Matthew Cosby, CTO, Goonhilly Earth Station. "By providing robust, commercial lunar communications, we are not just supporting individual missions – we are helping to build the infrastructure that will enable a long-term human presence beyond Earth."
“Goonhilly's support to commercial lunar communications is a great example of the UK’s important role in global space exploration efforts,” said Joshua King, Deep Space Telecommunications Investment Lead at the UK Space Agency. “By fostering innovation and capitalising on private investment, we can ensure the UK remains at the forefront of a sector that continues to rapidly evolve. The growing need for commercial services and infrastructure to sustain a long-term human presence beyond Earth offers a significant opportunity to boost economic growth and create high-skilled jobs in the UK.”
With its commercial lunar and deep space network – the first of its kind – Goonhilly continues to support the rapid increase in lunar exploration and is laying the foundation for future industries such as off-world mining, lunar manufacturing, and interplanetary logistics.
Goonhilly has a long-standing legacy in satellite and deep space communications, providing tracking for many of the world’s leading space agencies and commercial operators. Since 2021, Goonhilly’s network has provided almost 9000 hours of support to missions beyond geostationary orbit, including over 800 hours of support dedicated to lunar missions.
With the number of lunar and deep space missions accelerating, Goonhilly is committed to supporting the next generation of lunar infrastructure, reinforcing its status as a world leader in commercial deep space communications. As humanity builds towards a permanent presence on the Moon, Goonhilly remains a key enabler of this historic transformation.