The Athena lunar lander by Intuitive Machines failed after landing sideways in a crater near the moon's south pole, 250 meters off its target.
It carried $62 million worth of experiments, including rovers and a drone, but went silent after sending some data and images.
The lander's solar panels were unlikely to recharge due to its position and the extreme cold in the crater.
The large rover on board didn’t deploy, but data suggested it could have operated if the mission had succeeded.
This was Intuitive Machines' second failed landing attempt; the first one also ended in a sideways landing.
Despite the failure, the company succeeded in putting the US back on the moon for the first time in over 50 years.
Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost lander, with most of its NASA experiments meeting mission objectives.
The moon's south pole, where Athena landed, is difficult to reach due to its terrain and harsh conditions.
NASA aims to land astronauts there by 2027 to explore frozen water in the craters.
Intuitive Machines has contracts for two more lunar deliveries and plans to investigate the issues with Athena before the next mission.
Both of Intuitive Machines' landings had problems with the laser navigation system.
Athena Spacecraft Lander
It is developed by Intuitive Machines under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
CLPS program is designed to facilitate private sector lunar exploration.
Location: Mons Mouton, approximately 160 km from the Moon’s South Pole—the closest landing to the South Pole ever achieved.
Scientific Goals
Primary Objective: Search for subsurface water ice—a crucial resource for future lunar missions.
Conduct studies to support NASA’s Artemis program for long-term human exploration.
Test advanced technologies that could be used for future lunar and Mars missions.
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