Intuitive Machines declares moon mission done with lander on side, batteries dead

Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel on Mar 7, 2025

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Intuitive Machines revealed its Athena moon lander mission has ended after tipping over on its side.

The Houston-based company has now suffered two landing mishaps in two years.

A photo released Friday showed the lander’s legs in the air.

The company said it activated what it could since touching down near the moon’s south pole Thursday as part of the IM-2 mission that launched on Feb. 26 from Kennedy Space Center.

That includes the PRIME-1 drill, the primary payload flying as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. But on its side, the drill was not able to dig into anything.

Neither of two rovers, nor a hopper that were designed to explore areas around the lander, were able to be deployed.

The solar panels are not expected to be able to recharge the lander and so the mission is done, the company said.

“With the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge,” it said on the company’s website. “The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission.”

The company’s landing attempt was at Mons Mouton, a location only about 100 miles from the south pole, the farthest of any landing attempt ever made at the moon.

But during its descent Thursday, the company had issues with its laser navigation system, and the landed touched down about 800 feet outside of its target zone inside a crater.

The 2024 landing attempt also was in the south pole region, but the terrain is much more complicated than the flat surfaces that can be found in other parts of the moon.

Fellow Texas company Firefly Aerospace managed a perfect landing on mostly flat terrain just five days earlier with its Blue Ghost lander.

“This southern pole region is lit by harsh sun angles and limited direct communication with the Earth,” the company stated. “This area has been avoided due to its rugged terrain and Intuitive Machines believes the insights and achievements from IM-2 will open this region for further space exploration.”

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