NASA's Athena lunar lander, developed by Intuitive Machines, has successfully touched down on the Moon’s surface as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. However, the exact condition of the lander remains uncertain, with mission control still awaiting full confirmation of its operational status.
Moments after landing, the team confirmed engine shutdown and acknowledged that certain commands had been received, but final telemetry data is yet to provide a clear picture of the lander’s state.
Landing near the moon's south pole
Athena was designed to land near the Moon’s South Pole, a region rich in scientific and resource opportunities. Its designated landing site, Mons Mouton, is approximately 160 kilometers from the lunar South Pole, making it the closest landing to this region in history.
The site was selected for its potential to host subsurface water ice, a crucial resource for future lunar exploration.
What happened during landing?
Athena’s descent was broadcast live, showing the spacecraft conducting its final approach to the lunar surface. However, as in Intuitive Machines’ previous IM-1 mission, communication challenges have made it difficult to confirm the lander’s exact condition.
During the IM-1 mission, a leg of the lander broke upon impact, causing it to tip over and rest at a 30-degree angle. Similar concerns now surround Athena’s touchdown, though NASA and Intuitive Machines have yet to confirm any structural issues.
Athena's scientific mission
Athena plays a key role in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon. The lander carries advanced scientific instruments, including:
- A deep-digging drill to analyze lunar soil
- A mass spectrometer to search for subsurface water ice
- Nokia's 4G/LTE cellular network, marking the first deployment of such technology on the Moon
Additionally, Athena is scheduled to capture images of a lunar eclipse on March 14, providing unique data on lunar shadowing and surface temperatures.
Athena follows firefly’s blue ghost mission
Athena’s landing comes just days after Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost mission, which successfully touched down on the Moon’s surface earlier this week. The back-to-back private lunar missions mark a new era of commercial space exploration, with NASA increasingly partnering with private companies to achieve its lunar goals.
As the world awaits further updates, Athena’s successful landing—despite uncertainties—represents a major step forward in private-sector lunar exploration.