Space technology firm Intuitive Machines will receive up to $10 million in funding from Texas officials to help develop an “orbital fabrication lab,” company officials announced.
Building a Lab and Reentry Vehicle
The project includes the lab, which aims to offer biomanufacturing capabilities in a microgravity environment, and a reentry vehicle to return samples from space. IM officials said the latter is a “critical risk-reduction platform” for its efforts to return samples from the Moon.
The Potential of Microgravity Manufacturing
Intuitive Machines began developing the reentry vehicle in 2022 and subsequently partnered with Rhodium Scientific to develop biomanufacturing solutions. Officials said that select materials, pharmaceuticals, and industrial processes can be conducted more efficiently or effectively in a lower-gravity environment than they could on the Earth’s surface.
Grants Promote Texas’ Space Sector
The money was awarded from the Texas Space Commission’s Space Exploration and Research Fund, which provides grants to companies, government agencies, universities, and nonprofits in the space exploration or aeronautics industries. Texas lawmakers allocated $150 million to the SEARF grant program overall.
Image credit: Intuitive Machines
