Athena, the second lunar lander from Houston-based company Intuitive Machines, has crashed on the lunar surface during its touchdown in March. The lander, which was part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, tipped over and ended up on its side within a small crater near the moon’s south pole.
The orientation prevented Athena’s solar panels from capturing enough sunlight, leading Intuitive Machines to declare the lander “dead” on March 7. However, the lander did beam back some images of its surroundings before failing.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured stunning photos of Athena and its crater grave, providing a clearer view of the lander’s location in the Mons Mouton region. The LRO also captured another photo three days later, which provided a closer look at Athena on the shadowed floor of a 65-foot-wide crater.
Athena’s mission, known as IM-2, was intended to conduct experiments and ride-along robots, but it did not achieve its planned science time on the lunar surface. Despite this, Intuitive Machines believes that Athena’s brief life could help pave the way for future work in the region, which is thought to harbor large stores of water ice.
The lander’s failure was not unexpected, given the harsh sun angles and limited communication with Earth in the southern pole region. However, it provides valuable insights into this area and could open up new opportunities for space exploration.
Source: https://www.space.com/the-universe/moon/dead-athena-moon-lander-seen-inside-its-crater-grave-from-lunar-orbit-photos