Slicing through the eastern sky on a pristine early evening, the spacecraft swiftly vanished into the distance as it guzzled propellant and shed weight. Just two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, the initial stage detached, allowing the Falcon 9 to press on towards space driven by its single second stage engine. Around six minutes later, the upper stage engine powered down, placing the rocket on its intended path. A second one-minute burn was executed 36 minutes post-launch to adjust the trajectory of the upper stage and its payloads for the moon.
Assuming a smooth launch and minimal issues, the Athena lander is slated to touch down on a flat plateau dubbed Mons Mouton on March 6, positioning itself just 100 miles from the moon’s south pole – a closer approach than any prior spacecraft endeavors.
An artist’s rendering of the Athena lander from Intuitive Machines on the lunar surface, showcasing its Trident drill, a small rover, and the Gracie hopper in action. / Credit: Intuitive Machines
Another privately-crafted moon lander, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost, was sent into space by a Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket on Jan. 15 and is en route for an early Sunday landing on the moon. Its target area lies near the center of Mare Crisium, equipped with 10 NASA-backed instruments to gather essential data for future astronaut missions within the Artemis program.
Sharing the Falcon 9 rocket with Blue Ghost was yet another moon lander, crafted by the Japanese company ispace. This spacecraft is following a longer, energy-efficient trajectory to the moon, with a planned landing in May.
Distinguishing Features of the Athena Lander
The Athena lander signifies a more intricate mission with extensive scientific objectives. Intuitive Machines executives state they have implemented numerous enhancements and upgrades to ensure a safe, upright landing following the tipping incident of their initial lander, Odysseus, in February last year.
CEO Steve Altemus remarked, “Each mission is a gamble … I believe we are more confident this time around, yet this mission is also considerably more complex.”
“This time, we are carrying a deployable drill. We have a deployable rover and a drone, a rocket-propelled drone that can hop, fly off the lander, and traverse the surface into a permanently shadowed crater.”
Altemus continued, “These deployments and surface operations are new to us, and we will gain valuable insights from executing them.”
The Athena lander’s Trident drill, along with a mass spectrometer, will examine the ultra-cold lunar soil beneath the spacecraft. Additionally, the lander will deploy a small commercially-manufactured rover and a rocket-powered hopper, capable of leaping up to 300 feet before descending into a nearby permanently shadowed crater to search for potential ice deposits.
Ice could prove to be an invaluable resource for future astronauts, as
The search for suspected ice on the lunar surface began with the deployment of the Grace hopper and the Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform rover, named after Grace Hopper, a software pioneer. These two vehicles will communicate with the Athena lander using cellular networking equipment provided by Nokia in a groundbreaking demonstration. Joining them are other spacecraft: the microrover Yaoki from Dymon Co., which will capture close-up images of the lunar regolith and transmit them back to Earth through Athena. Additionally, three more independent spacecraft hitched a ride on the Falcon 9 rocket: one from NASA and two from private companies. Odin, developed by AstroForge, will venture beyond the moon on an asteroid prospecting mission, while NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer satellite and Epic Aerospace’s Chimera GEO-1 space tug will study lunar ice and move small satellites in Earth orbit, respectively.
The highlight of the mission may be the Grace hopper, which is scheduled to make five hops, reaching varying altitudes and even landing in a permanently shadowed crater. This demonstration aims to showcase the capability of using drone-like technology to explore extreme environments instead of traditional rovers. The mission, with a total cost of $207 million funded by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, is a step towards enabling industry growth and collecting crucial data before human missions to the moon’s south pole later in the decade.
“Supporting long-term lunar exploration to help the United States stay ahead in space innovation,” stated Nicola Fox, head of NASA’s space science mission directorate. Athena represents Intuitive Machines’ second CLPS-sponsored lunar lander, following the company’s first successful landing with Odysseus on Feb. 22, 2024. However, Odysseus encountered unexpected difficulties during touchdown, landing harder than anticipated and tilting slightly to one side, causing it to tip over onto its side after one of its footpads caught on the lunar surface. Despite this setback, the spacecraft remained operational and continued to transmit data for several days. To ensure a safer landing for Athena, numerous upgrades have been implemented. Intuitive Machines’ CEO, Altemus, emphasized the significance of successful lunar landings, noting that the ability to land on the moon routinely opens up opportunities for scientists and engineers to invest in developing systems to facilitate sustainable human presence on the lunar surface. He likened this milestone to the pioneering spirit of early American settlers heading westward, describing it as a new frontier of exploration. In a teaser, the upcoming case of The People v. Kouri Richins is hinted at, while a traditional recipe for Old-Fashioned Beef Stew is shared. Finally, there is mention of Elon Musk’s response to an email from federal employees, with support from former President Trump.
