- In February, aerospace firm Intuitive Machines dispatched its moon lander named Athena.
- The spacecraft journeyed through the cosmos inside SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
- It came to rest on its side inside a crater located 820 feet from the targeted landing area and is now non-functional.
Intuitive Machines, an American aerospace firm, has initiated the launch of its
lunar lander
Athena headed to the moon at the end of February, however, the spacecraft experienced a bumpy landing, ending up inside a crater and overturning onto its side.
Athena touched down approximately 820 feet from its targeted location in the Mons Mouton area.
moon’s south pole
On Friday, Intuitive Machines announced in a press release.
“Photos transmitted from Athena on the moon’s surface verified that she was lying on her side,” Intuitive Machines stated, also mentioning that its batteries drained sometime after touchdown.
The firm stated that it does not anticipate Athena will be recharged, considering the position of the sun and the alignment of Athena’s.
solar panels
, and the extremely cold temperatures within the crater where it had landed.
The spacecraft was sent to the moon aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Representatives from Intuitive Machines failed to reply to requests for commentary.
An image posted by the firm depicted the lander upside down on the lunar surface, with several of the landing gears intended for support positioned upwards.
Intuitive Machines stated that the mission, IM-2, aimed to showcase “lunar mobility, resource exploration, and the examination of volatile compounds within underground materials.”
The firm additionally mentioned that even though the lander ended up tilted, their teams are examining the gathered data. They believe that knowledge gained from this mission will make the area, famous for severe environments, accessible for further space exploration endeavors.
NASA mentioned that Intuitive Machines managed to gather some valuable data for the agency prior to the mission concluding sooner than anticipated.
“The area around the lunar South Pole where we aim to land is among the moon’s most scientifically intriguing and geographically complex regions,” stated Nicky Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA. “Every achievement and every obstacle presents an opportunity for learning and growth, and we’ll apply these lessons to push forward with our goals in science, exploration, and commercial advancement as we prepare for human missions to Mars.”
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