San Francisco Frontiers - US company says Moon mission over after landing sideways again

Houston-based Intuitive Machines hoped to make history with Athena, a hexagonal lander designed to touch down on the Mons Mouton plateau, closer to the lunar south pole than any mission before.

But after traveling more than a million kilometers through space, the spacecraft came to rest inside a crater, 250 meters from its intended target -- once again landing on its side.

Images downlinked from Athena confirmed mission controllers' worst fears: the lander had suffered a similar fate to Intuitive Machines' prior attempt in February 2024.

But mission controllers were able to "accelerate several program and payload milestones," including a NASA experiment designed to drill beneath the lunar surface in search of ice and chemicals, before Athena's batteries depleted.

"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," the company said.

"The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission."

On Thursday, the company suggested that issues with Athena's laser altimeter -- which provide altitude and velocity readings -- may have contributed to the bad landing, much like in the previous mission.

Adding to the disappointment, Intuitive Machines' latest mishap comes just days after Texas rival Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost lander on its first attempt.

The missions are part of NASA's $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which seeks to leverage private industry to lower costs and support Artemis -- NASA's effort to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually reach Mars.

Of the four CLPS missions attempted so far, only one lander managed an upright touchdown, two landed sideways, and one failed to reach the Moon altogether.

E.Walker--SFF