The Texas-based Intuitive Machines faced a setback as their lunar lander Athena failed to function post a sideways landing near the moon's south pole, missing its target by 800 feet. Despite sending back images and activating some experiments, Athena is declared non-operational due to its solar panels' inability to absorb sunlight in the crater's extreme cold. This mission follows an earlier failed attempt but highlights advancements in lunar exploration, with another company, Firefly Aerospace, achieving a successful landing and conducting NASA experiments on their Blue Ghost lander.
NASA and other customers had packed the lander with tens of millions of dollars' worth of experiments including an ice drill, drone and pair of rovers to roam the unexplored terrain ahead of astronauts' planned arrival later this decade.
This was the second landing attempt for Intuitive Machines. The first, a year ago, also ended with a sideways landing, but the company was able to keep the lander going for longer than this time.
Despite all the problems, the company's first lander managed to put the U.S. back on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission, the company said in a statement.
Collection
[
|
...
]