Intuitive Machines' second Moon lander touches down but it could be on its side -- again
Intuitive Machine landed its second Nova-C lander on the Moon on Thursday. This time, a lander named Athena touched down on the south pole region known as Mons Mouton, a possible landing site for future human missions. Mission control in Houston is working to confirm if the lander is upright.
Athena lunar lander sends back images from Moon's south pole
While in orbit, Intuitive Machine's Nova-C lunar lander named Athena captured these views of its future landing spot, Mons Mouton, on the Moon's south pole.
HOUSTON – Another historic U.S. robotic Moon landing happened Thursday, but whether the lander is standing upright on the surface remains unclear.
The space industry is in its Moon era, with dozens of robotic missions planned to our only natural satellite in the coming years – two happening this week. The first was Sunday when Firefly Aerospace landed its Blue Ghost mission on the near side of the Moon.
On Thursday, the Nova-C lander named Athena by Intuitive Machines landed in a different region near the lunar south pole known as Mons Mouton, which is also a landing site candidate for NASA's human missions under the Artemis program.
In lunar orbit, Athena used braking burns to slow down from 4,000 mph to a few miles per second before landing. Intuitive Machines mission control in Houston confirmed the lander was down at 12:31 p.m. ET, but officials later said they aren't certain if the craft is standing up.
A view from the Nova-C Athena lander moments before touching down near the lunar south pole on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
(Intuitive Machines)
"We don't believe we're in the correct attitude on the surface of the Moon, yet again," said Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, in a press briefing Thursday afternoon.
Altemus said the company will receive photos and more data in the coming days that will confirm Athena's positioning. He added that some data from the spacecraft was giving "conflicting" information about the possible position of Athena.
However, based on the initial data, company leaders don't believe Athena is in the correct position.
"I want to get all the measurements and the pictures to really be able to explain to you the configuration of the vehicle," Altemus said.
If Athena is upright, it will be a resounding success for Houston-based Intuitive Machines. The first Nova-C lander, Odysseus, toppled over during the landing process in February 2024, but NASA still hailed it a success as the first American landing since 1972.
This is Intuitive Machine's second mission to the Moon in just over a year. In the coming days, engineers will work to determine if Athena met a similar fate as Odysseus.
What happens next?
The IM-2 mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and contains science investigations for NASA, along with Lonestar Data Holdings, Columbia Sportswear, Nokia, Lunar Outpost, Puli Space, Dymon Co. Ltd. and the German Aerospace Center.
Despite the uncertainty about Athena's position, NASA leadership says the mission is a success because it's building our presence on the Moon.
"Our goal is to set American companies up to establish a lunar economy on the surface. And that means that even if it doesn't land perfectly, we always learn lessons that we can provide and use in the future," said Nicky Fox, NASA Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate.
A view from the Nova-C Athena lander moments before touching down near the lunar south pole on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
Athena is the farthest south for a lunar mission yet. Because of the Moon's orientation, the craters on the south pole are permanently in shadow, and scientists believe there is water ice in these vast craters. Some of the payloads on Athena will hunt for water ice, which could be utilized by human missions in the coming years to create drinking water and fuel.
A small rover on Athena by MIT Media Labs will share 3D images of the lunar surface with the world. According to Comcast, these images could come in real-time and will be shared throughout the mission.
Three payloads from the MIT Media Lab will be on a small rover called the Lunar Outpost. The rover should deploy soon after landing and send back images from the surface. Images will be posted on the MIT website at tothemoontostay.org.
Another payload on Athena will help test the first cellular network on the Moon. Nokia's Bell Labs's Lunar Surface Communication System (LSCS) is a "network in a box" designed to operate on the lunar south pole.
Two Moon vehicles will be deployed to test the 4G network: Intuitive Machines’ Micro-Nova Hopper named "Grace" and Lunar Outpost’s Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover. Both vehicles will use the LSCS to communicate with Athena on the Moon, even when Grace descends into the permanently shadowed craters.
Nokia and Intuitive Machines hope to transmit photos and video, potentially of the first image of ice on the Moon, back to Athena through the lunar cellular network.