Leonardo, Telespazio, and Intuitive Machines Sign a Strategic Agreement for Lunar Communication and Navigation

Intuitive Machines, Leonardo, and Telespazio have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to advance interoperable infrastructures and provide communications and navigation services in support of lunar exploration. 

The agreement establishes a framework for collaboration among the companies to promote and enhance interoperability between their respective infrastructures: the Lunar Communication and Navigation System (LCNS) developed by Telespazio as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Moonlight program, and   Intuitive Machines’ Space Data Network (SDN) , which is used to manage NASA’s Near Space Network Services (NSNS) program. 

Intuitive Machines is vertically integrated across space infrastructure, data, and delivery services, connecting space mobility platforms, landers, satellites, and data networks into a unified system. This structure is part of the Company's strategy to extend the Internet of Things (IoT) from Earth into space, where vehicles and sensors become nodes on a network that collect, share, and act on data. Space IoT with Intuitive Machines can help mission teams across government, commercial, and academic sectors stay in space longer, operate farther from base, quickly deliver results, and make decisions faster.  

Spacecraft such as satellites, lunar landers, terrain vehicles, and reentry vehicles serve as relay points, transmitting data across the SDN, a unified architecture built on the Company’s space infrastructure backbone that spans Earth proximity, cislunar, and extended cislunar regions. Today’s announcement illustrates the rapid expansion of the SDN as it supports the needs of partners such as Leonardo and Telespazio, alongside programs and commercial customers worldwide. 

“Resilient, secure, and scalable space infrastructure and space data networks are vital to customers who want to push farther on the lunar surface and beyond to Mars. Through our collaboration with Leonardo and Telespazio, Intuitive Machines is becoming an interoperable part of Europe’s space effort, enabling the retrieval and use of space data at minimal latency,” said Steve Altemus, Co-Founder and CEO of Intuitive Machine. “This capability drives more responsive operations, faster coordination, and greater autonomy across exploration and science, building on the foundation we have established in the United States through our management of NASA’s Near Space Data Network.”  

“This agreement with Intuitive Machines marks a major step toward establishing a sustainable operational framework on the Moon, enabling future robotic and human missions from the United States, Europe, and beyond to access a robust communications network and high-precision navigation services while operating in the lunar environment,” commented Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo’s Space Division. “Leonardo, together with Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space, further strengthens its role in space exploration, along with lunar infrastructure, robotics, planetary communications and services already under development for several international programs.”

The collaboration aims to foster the creation of an integrated lunar communication and navigation network capable of providing secure, reliable, and interoperable services to support future commercial and institutional lunar missions and the development of a lunar ecosystem economy. 

Ready to build your next space mission? Contact us to learn more about the Intuitive Machines space infrastructure and SDN.