Intuitive Machines’ (IM) second moon mission ended in disappointment on Friday after the US company confirmed that its spacecraft had tipped over and was unable to recharge its solar-powered batteries — mirroring its first attempt last year.
It marked a premature conclusion to a mission that had sparked excitement in the space community, thanks to its cutting-edge payloads, including a futuristic hopping drone, multiple rovers, an ice drill and a 4G network test.
Houston-based IM had hoped to make history with Athena, a hexagonal lander about the height of a giraffe, designed to touch down on a spot called the Mons Mouton plateau, closer to the lunar south pole than any mission before.
Photo: AFP / Intuitive Machines
However, after blasting off last week aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and traveling more than 1 million kilometers through space, the spacecraft stumbled at the final hurdle on Thursday, coming down at an awkward angle.
IM on Friday confirmed that it had fallen face-first into a crater, at least 250m from its intended landing site. A photograph released by the company showed Athena resting on an incline, with Earth visible between two of its splayed landing legs — a fate similar to IM’s prior landing with its Odysseus spacecraft in February last year.
“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 in a statement, adding that “the mission has concluded.”
NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Nicky Fox struck a positive note.
“Each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow, and we will use this lesson to propel our efforts to advance science, exploration and commercial development as we get ready for human exploration of Mars,” she said.
NASA powered the ice drill and moved it around, but could not use it for its intended purpose.
The science investigations and technology demonstrations were originally expected to last approximately 10 days, with the company hoping to capture a lunar eclipse from the moon’s perspective on Friday next week.
IM executives on Thursday suggested that issues with Athena’s laser altimeters contributed to the bad landing, similar to the previous mission, when Odysseus came in too fast, caught a foot on the surface and toppled over.
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