ILO-X imagers

IM-1 · landed · commercial payload

A small dual-camera imaging suite, one wide-field and one narrow-field imager, for the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA). It was a precursor to ILOA's planned ILO-1 observatory: the aim was to image the Milky Way's center from the lunar surface and to show key elements of ILO-1 working.

PI: not in public sources (ILOA Director Steve Durst speaks for the payload)
Built by: Canadensys Aerospace (Ontario, Canada), prime contractor for ILOA (Hawai'i, non-profit) (company)

Technology	surface cameras (astronomy precursor)
Moon Base need	DN-005 L (The study's reading, and a weak fit. ILO-X was built for astronomy, not site surveys. But it took images from the surface near the South Pole, the kind of data DN-005 L asks for. No NASA source links ILO-X to a Moon Base need.)
Route onto CLPS	commercial; ILOA bought space on Intuitive Machines' first lander; it is not a NASA payload. When the agreement was made is not in the saved sources. Canadensys delivered the payload to Intuitive Machines by March 2022.
Timeline	first funding not in public sources; first flight test not in public sources; selected not in public sources; launch 2024-02-15; landing 2024-02-22
On the Moon	partly operated
FO	none

Flights before the Moon

None found in the public sources.

Funding before the lunar flight

• ILOA paid Canadensys as prime contractor and paid Intuitive Machines for the ride. Amounts not public. No NASA, SBIR or other US federal award found for ILOA or Canadensys. (private (ILOA); not in public sources): amount not in public sources

"ILOA chose Canadensys Aerospace as the prime contractor for both the ILO-X and ILO-1 instruments."
— Canadensys imaging instruments heading to the lunar surface this year - SpaceQ Media Inc.linkedin

How it got onto CLPS

"Nova-C will also carry six payloads from other customers, unrelated to NASA"
— NASA press kit, Commercial Lunar Payload Services Intuitive Machines IM-1 Mission

"Canadensys Aerospace announced today that it delivered the ILO-X payload, consisting of a dual-imaging instrument to Intuitive Machines"
— Canadensys imaging instruments heading to the lunar surface this year - SpaceQ Media Inc.linkedin, 18 Mar 2022

On the Moon

ILO-X imaged the South Pole region during descent, about 4.2 minutes before touchdown, and took a wide-field image from the surface on 25 February 2024. ILOA had 9 high-resolution and 105 thumbnail images by 29 February. Because of how the tipped lander came to rest, the wide-field camera did not point at the Milky Way, its main target. Canadensys says some of its instruments 'did not achieve their full potential' because of the lander's final orientation.

"To date, ILOA has received 9 high-resolution and 105 thumbnail images from the ILO-X imagers"
— ILOA Receives First Moon Surface and Lunar Descent Images from ILO-X Aboard Intuitive Machines’ I…

"This image from the Moon reveals the ILO-X wide field-of-view's orientation on the Moon, which regrettably does not include the Milky Way Galaxy."
— ILOA Receives First Moon Surface and Lunar Descent Images from ILO-X Aboard Intuitive Machines’ I…

"Others did not achieve their full potential due to the final orientation of the lander when it came to rest on the moon."
— After a Soft Lunar Touchdown, Canadensys Plans More Missions to the Moon - SpaceQ Media Inc.x

FO's role

Grade: none. No FO project, flight or report names ILOA, ILO-X or Canadensys (search of the 430 FO TechPort records, FO's pages and FO's reports, 4 October 2026). Not in the study's earlier traceback, which covered NASA payloads only.

Who built it

"We are very appreciative of Intuitive Machines and our ILO-X payload developer / contractor Canadensys Aerospace Corporation"
— ILOA Receives First Moon Surface and Lunar Descent Images from ILO-X Aboard Intuitive Machines’ I…

"ILOA chose Canadensys Aerospace as the prime contractor for both the ILO-X and ILO-1 instruments."
— Canadensys imaging instruments heading to the lunar surface this year - SpaceQ Media Inc.linkedin, SpaceQ, 18 Mar 2022, date from the page's metadata

Moon Base need

"Take a series of panoramic images from the surface of the lunar south pole at potential"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: DN-005 L: Optical images from the lunar surface at the lunar south pole, Description

"It shows portions of the lunar landscape, regolith / dust, the Sun, and the IM-1 Odysseus lunar lander."
— ILOA Receives First Moon Surface and Lunar Descent Images from ILO-X Aboard Intuitive Machines’ I…

Open questions

• When did ILOA sign with Intuitive Machines for the IM-1 ride, and what did it cost? A November 2020 ILOA-Intuitive Machines announcement turned up in a web search but could not be saved (the site blocked the download), so it is not used here.
• Which Canadensys cameras flew on Hakuto-R Mission 1, and were they a predecessor of the ILO-X imagers? Not in public sources.
• Did ILO-X fly or test in any environment before IM-1 (balloon, aircraft, vacuum chamber)? Not in public sources.