Intuitive Machines' second moon lander touches down but could be on its side – again
HOUSTON - Another historic U.S. robotic moon landing happened Thursday, but whether the lander is sitting 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 breaking 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.
"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 in the coming days that will confirm Athena's positioning.
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.
A view from the Nova-C Athena lander moments before touching down near the lunar south pole on Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Intuitive Machines)
What happens next?
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.
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.
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.
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