Impulse Space, the innovative startup founded by SpaceX veteran Tom Mueller, has unveiled plans for a new lunar lander designed to deliver up to three tonnes of payload to the Moon’s surface. The announcement highlights the company’s ambition to fill a “critical gap” in lunar cargo capabilities, positioning it as a key player in the growing commercial space race.
Mueller, renowned as the architect behind SpaceX’s Merlin engine, established Impulse Space to tackle mobility challenges in space.
The company has already made waves with its Mira spacecraft, which has completed two missions and is undergoing upgrades, and its upcoming Helios kick stage. Helios, set to debut no earlier than late 2026, is a launcher-agnostic system capable of lofting over four tonnes to geostationary orbit (GEO), promising faster and more affordable payload deliveries.
Now, Impulse is extending its expertise to the Moon, developing the lander entirely in-house to address unmet needs in the half-tonne to 13-tonne payload range.
“There’s a critical gap in lunar cargo delivery capabilities,” Mueller stated, emphasizing the limitations of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program for smaller deliveries and the ongoing development delays for larger human landing systems.
The new lander slots into a competitive landscape of lunar vehicles. This ranges through to the super-sized Starship Human Landing System, which aims for a massive 100 tonnes, while Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 targets 30 tonnes in its one-way configuration. Its predecessor, Blue Moon Mark 1, matches Impulse’s capacity at three tonnes.
On the lighter end, Firefly’s Blue Ghost is designed for 240 kilograms, and Astrobotic’s Griffin for 625 kilograms. This diversity underscores varying demands for lunar access, with Impulse directly challenging Blue Moon Mark 1 by offering a near-term, multi-tonne solution.
A key advantage of Impulse’s design is its integration with existing technology. The lander will hitch a ride on Helios, which handles the journey from low Earth orbit through trans-lunar injection to lunar orbit—eliminating the need for a new transfer stage.
Notably, the system avoids in-space refueling, a complex requirement for some competitors, and shares similarities with Blue Origin’s Mark 1 in this regard.
Propulsion remains at the heart of the project, leveraging Mueller’s expertise. The lander’s unnamed engine will use the same nitrous oxide and ethane bipropellant as Mira’s Saiph thrusters, which have proven reliable across two flights.
This choice offers a safer, less toxic alternative to hypergolic fuels, reducing risks for ground teams and eliminating boil-off concerns associated with cryogenics like liquid oxygen, methane, or hydrogen.
Flexibility is another selling point: As Helios is compatible with multiple launch vehicles—including Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Starship, New Glenn, Vulcan, Eclipse, Ariane 6, and H3—the lander inherits this agnostic approach, broadening its accessibility.
Impulse is eyeing 2028 for the lander’s first missions, with plans for two landings that year, potentially delivering a combined six tonnes to the lunar surface. This timeline hinges on Helios’s successful rollout, which Mueller predicts will involve “multiple missions per year” by then.
The company’s track record of rapid, reliable spacecraft development positions it well to meet these goals, but as with any space endeavor, challenges remain.
As the lunar economy heats up, Impulse’s entry could democratize access to the Moon, enabling more diverse payloads for scientific, commercial, and exploratory missions. Whether they hit their 2028 target will be a story to watch in the coming years.
(Lead image: Impulse Space’s lunar lander. Credit: Impulse Space)
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