An Impulse Space Lunar Lander after deployment from Helios in lunar orbit. Photo: Impulse Space

In-space mobility provider Impulse Space has its sights set on the Moon. The company announced plans for a lunar lander that would use its existing Helios kick stage to reach the Moon. 

Impulse Space founder Tom Mueller, the architect behind SpaceX’s Merlin engine family, laid out the next steps in the company’s roadmap in a blog post on Tuesday, describing a gap in the lunar cargo delivery market for payloads between half a ton to 13 tons, which could include deliveries like rovers, communication relay systems, and power generators. Mueller said this gap is not served by the small-scale delivery landers or the Human Landing System (HLS) vehicles. 

The company said a combination of the Helios kick stage and a new Impulse Space lander, launched on a standard medium- or heavy-lift rocket, would be able to deliver approximately 3 tons of cargo to the Moon. After launch, Helios would transport the lander to low lunar orbit within a week, and the lander would then separate and land on the Moon’s surface.

“This solution can bridge the existing cargo delivery gap by offering direct transportation of the necessary mass to kickstart infrastructure, resource utilization, and economic activities on the Moon,” Mueller said. “We’ve already begun engine development for our lunar lander solution, and we stand ready to execute as dictated by industry demand and interest.”

Impulse Space projects to start lunar deliveries in 2028. 

Impulse Space, which raised a massive $300 million earlier this year, has flown its Mira orbital transfer and payload hosting vehicle, and plans to fly the Helios kick stage for the first time next year.