Intuitive Machines, a private American company, is attempting to land a probe on the moon in a historic search for water and ice.
Update: 21:00
Intuitive Machines completed an impressive landing near the moon's south pole today (March 6, 2025), but the status of the private probe "Athena" is still not completely clear. At 12:31 (UTC), the lander touched down on the surface in an area called Mons Mauton, which is just about a hundred miles from the south pole - closer than ever to the lunar pole.
The ground team reported that contact with Athena was maintained after landing, and that essential systems were beginning to generate solar power. However, it is not yet known whether it is fully upright or tilted at an angle, which will determine the quality of communications later on. A similar scenario occurred last year with the company's Odysseus lander, which suffered damage to one of its legs during landing, causing it to lean to one side.
The mission, known as IM-2, operates under the auspices of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, under which the agency has reserved space to fly research and technology payloads worth $62.5 million. The main goal is to examine the possibility of extracting resources from the lunar soil, with an emphasis on frozen water that is likely found in permanently shaded craters near the poles.
A dedicated drill (PRIME-1) is installed on "Athena," which is supposed to drill to a depth of about three meters and send samples for examination in a spectrometric system. Alongside it, the lander carries several robotic vehicles, including "Grace" - a mini-probe that can jump between different areas using small engines, including into a shadowed crater that is impossible to reach with wheeled vehicles.
At this time, it is not possible to say whether Athena landed in a way that would allow the drill and robots to carry out their tasks. The team announced that it will reveal more details at a press conference scheduled for 16:00 p.m. (21:00 p.m. GMT). The information collected could serve as important preparation for landing humans in the South Pole region in 2027, as part of NASA's Artemis program to establish permanent infrastructure on the moon.
Update: 20:00 Something went wrong with the landing. We will update later.
The report that preceded the landing attempt
Intuitive Machines and NASA are collaborating to oversee the landing of the Athena probe, which is currently in orbit around the moon. The probe will attempt to land at 17:30 PM GMT (19:30 PM Israel time).
The attempt comes after the company's first probe landed on its side last year.
The company's Nova-C lunar lander is set to land in the Mons Moatan region, a lunar plateau near the moon's south pole, as part of NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and the Artemis campaign aimed at establishing a long-term presence on the moon.
The lander carries NASA technology demonstrations and scientific research, as well as various instruments, including a jumping robot that will travel toward a large crater that is in permanent shadow.
The NASA and Intuitive Machines mission was launched with the goal of returning humans to the lunar surface. The space agency plans to send astronauts there in 2027 as part of the Artemis program.
Intuitive Machines successfully reached the moon last year, but the probe overturned. This time, the goal is to successfully land and deliver NASA cargo closer to the moon's south pole than any other mission to date.
What you need to know about the Athena moon landing:
- timing: Athena's descent to the lunar surface will begin soon, and the plan is to land around 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. NASA will begin live streaming at 11:30 a.m. on its website, or you can watch here.
- target: Mons Moatton, a flat table mountain about 160 kilometers from the moon's south pole. It will be the closest to the south pole of any probe that has landed so far.
- Busy week: Intuitive Machines is the second company to attempt a lunar landing this week. Firefly Aerospace, another Texas-based company, successfully reached the moon's Mara Crisium region on Sunday morning.
- NASA program: The main customer for both missions is NASA under the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program, which employs private companies to take NASA scientific and technological payloads to the lunar surface.
- cargo: Athena's main payload is a drill for NASA, which will dig into the lunar soil to test for frozen water and other compounds using a mass spectrometer.
- Rovers: In addition to the drill, the probe carries a robot the size of a small dog that will test a Nokia mobile network on the moon, and two other small rovers — one developed by MIT and the other by a Japanese company. It will also test a guided missile system called “Hopper” that can explore areas that are difficult to reach with rovers.
Intuitive Machines' Micro Nova Hopper — aka "Grace"
The hopper carries cameras, a thermometer and a water-detecting tool. It also carries an antenna to test Nokia's cellular network for communication between the hopper, the lander and a separate rover.
Route: About 14 hours after Athena lands, the hopper will jump about 20 meters from the lander. It will then make a longer jump of about 50 meters. Finally, the hopper will make a flat flight at an altitude of about 90 meters towards a small shaded crater, about 18 meters deep, and jump out again.
TRIDENT DRILL — Athena's main charge
The drill will allow scientists to examine the frozen water beneath the moon's surface for the first time. It will be able to drill to a depth of one meter.
The drill was built by Honeybee Robotics of California and is capable of operating both as a regular drill and in a "hammer" mode when it hits rocks or ice.
The experiment: The drill also carries two temperature sensors. One is located at the tip of the drill and the other eight inches above it. A special heater will measure the heat transfer between them, which can indicate the presence of frozen water in the ground.
Destination name: Mons Mouton
Mons Moatton is a mountain about 6,000 meters high and about 100 kilometers across. It is named in honor of Melba Moatton, an African-American mathematician who worked at NASA.
Problems during Intuitive Machines' previous landing
Last year, the first probe, Odysseus, managed to land but capsized.
At the time of landing, Odysseus was in a balanced position instead of upright, which caused him to flip over after landing.
The probe continued to operate and transmit data, but was unable to perform most of the planned scientific experiments.
Conclusions and a look to the future
If Athena manages to land safely, it will pave the way for future commercial missions to the Moon, including plans to launch astronauts in 2027 as part of NASA's Artemis program.
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