Company Intuitive Machines officially completed the mission of its lunar rover Athena after that, like him overturned in the crater near South Pole of the Moon. It the second case in two years, when the company's private apparatus does not withstand landing and falls on its side.
What happened?
- 6 March 2025 year Athena landed in the region Mons Mouton, one of the most geographically difficult places on the Moon.
- Apparatus fell on his side in the crater after touching the surface.
- Photo from the scene showed blue, semi-illuminated Earth on the horizon and two landing module legs, that stick up.
- Lack of solar energy and extreme cold made it impossible recharging batteries, thus the mission was officially completed.
Achievements and challenges of the IM-2 mission:
- The southernmost landing in the history of lunar missions.
- Boarding for 400 meters from the planned place, which confirmed high accuracy of the navigation system.
- Overturning the device in the crater, which made his further work impossible.
According to representatives NASA, the selected area was scientifically valuable, but extremely difficult to plant.
This is not the first such case:
- In February 2024 year during the mission IM-1 moon phase Odysseus also fell over, when one of its four landing gear broke due to a hard landing.
- For the mission IM-2 Intuitive Machines updated the navigation system and added cameras to improve landing maneuvers, but the problem still recurred.
What Athena carried?
- Two mini rovers for surface research.
- 4G-communication system from Nokia.
- Jumping robot “Grace”.
- NASA PRIME-1 drilling rig to search for ice below the surface.