A private company, Intuitive Machines, has launched a lunar lander named Athena, aiming to get closer to the moon’s south pole with a drone that will hop into a jet-black crater that never sees the sun. The launch comes ahead of NASA’s planned return to the moon and is part of an unprecedented rush of lunar landing attempts.
The 15-foot-tall lander was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, partnering with SpaceX, and is expected to make its landing on March 6. Athena will target a location 100 miles from the lunar south pole, where it will attempt to land in a permanently shadowed crater. If successful, the drone will make three test hops across the surface before entering the crater.
The mission includes science instruments from Hungary and Germany that aim to measure frozen water at the bottom of the crater. This could be significant as scientists suspect these craters are packed with tons of ice, which could be transformed into life-sustaining resources for future explorers.
Intuitive Machines has a history of lunar endeavors, including making the first US touchdown on the moon in over 50 years last year. However, its initial attempt was marred by an instrument failure and a rough landing. The company claims to have fixed these issues and is confident that this mission will be more successful.
NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer satellite and a private spacecraft are also part of the launch, including one that will chase after an asteroid for a flyby. The agency is paying $62 million to Intuitive Machines for its experiments, which could pave the way for future human missions to the moon.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/moon-landing-intuitive-machines-athena-cd50406e3f4e26418e231c26cb70b2c2