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US firm's robotic Athena lander appears to have landed sideways on Moon, like first attempt
The six-legged Athena lander, carrying 11 payloads and scientific instruments, descended over a flat-topped mountain named Mons Mouton
Intuitive Machines, a private firm from the United States, said on Thursday that its robotic Athena lander appears to have landed sideways on the moon's surface, similar to the company's first attempt.
“We don't believe we're in the correct attitude on the surface of the moon, yet again,” Chief Executive Steve Altemus said.
A laser range finder instrument is believed to have caused problems during a soft landing on the lunar surface. However, the lander continued to return data to Earth, but the mission result remains “off-nominal”.
The six-legged lander descended over a flat-topped mountain named Mons Mouton, about 160 km from the moon's south pole. It carries 11 payloads and scientific instruments.
The Athena lander took nearly an hour to descend on the moon's surface. It dropped out of the lunar orbit as planned, with an ice drill, a drone and two rovers.
For a few hours after landing, it remained unclear whether the mission managed to land the instrument upright or on its side like the last attempt. The mission control crew said the lander was powered on after landing, but its engines were shut down.
“It looks like we’re down. We are working to evaluate exactly what our orientation is on the surface,” said mission director and co-founder Tim Crain.
NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program aims to nurture the development of low-budget private spacecraft that can land on the lunar surface before the US sends astronauts around 2027. Intuitive Machines' latest mission is part of this program. Firefly, Astrobotic Technology and a handful of other companies are also part of this mission.
Five countries—the then Soviet Union, the US, China, India, and Japan—have successfully demonstrated soft landings on the moon's surface so far. India's Chandraayan-3 landed near the moon's south pole in 2023.
(With inputs from Reuters)
