Johns Hopkins APL and Intuitive Machines Advance the Nation’s Cislunar Communications and Navigation

As countries around the world shift their attention to the Moon and the space surrounding it, the United States is making it a priority to establish a long-term lunar presence, recognizing that leadership in cislunar space will shape the future of space science, exploration, commerce, and national security.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, has been teaming up with U.S. industry to develop the technology and infrastructure that will enable the nation to achieve its strategic goals. By merging U.S. priorities and commercial capabilities, APL is ensuring U.S. missions are supported by a secure, interoperable, and resilient space network.

APL and Houston-based Intuitive Machines formally signed a cooperation agreement in November 2024, at the request of the U.S. government to partner on providing safe, secure, and reliable communications and navigation infrastructure in cislunar space. Today, APL is working with Intuitive Machines to create and advance the nation’s communications and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) infrastructure for lunar and cislunar operations.

This new infrastructure will lay the foundation for sustained human and robotic operations on and around the Moon, enabling capabilities like autonomous operations, increasing space situational awareness, and providing more secure, reliable, and affordable communications among the Moon, Earth, and spacecraft. These capabilities are essential for coordination across future government and commercial missions, allowing assets from multiple organizations to operate safely and efficiently, and supporting future space plans, including NASA’s missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.

“As the U.S. expands its reach into cislunar space, the demand for reliable infrastructure has never been more urgent,” said Bobby Braun, head of APL’s Space Exploration Sector. “Our partnership with Intuitive Machines brings together two organizations committed to solving the nation’s toughest technical challenges and delivering capabilities that will enable long-duration missions for NASA and the nation.”

“This collaboration brings together Intuitive Machines’ proven lunar access and data services with APL’s decades of excellence in space systems engineering,” said Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines. “Together, we’re helping shape the future of lunar operations and ensuring that NASA and the nation have the infrastructure needed for long-term exploration.”

The cislunar region has attracted interest from defense, civil space, and industry organizations that see it as a key location for national security, scientific and human exploration, resource mining, and manufacturing.

APL brings decades of experience in space communications and PNT technologies to help the nation achieve its ambitions for the Moon and beyond. The Lab has developed several key technologies for this national effort to create an interoperable space network, including flight-ready prototypes of a common overlay router, time transfer modem, and antenna assembly. These technologies will provide secure and resilient communication in cislunar space, as well as among spacecraft and ground systems. APL is also collaborating with Intuitive Machines on an integrated communications architecture that will underpin the success of future lunar missions.

Together, the team is maturing a broad set of technologies that will form the backbone of a future cislunar network connecting missions, enabling autonomy, and protecting our critical space infrastructure.