The Athena robotic spacecraft has successfully landed on the lunar surface, marking another achievement for Intuitive Machines in their mission to advance lunar exploration. Though the landing occurred at Mons Mouton near the moon's south pole, flight controllers faced challenges in determining the lander’s status and orientation as they worked to ensure its health. This mission is part of NASA's $2.6bn commercial lunar payload services program, supporting future lunar exploration efforts, including crewed missions under the Artemis program aiming for 2027.
The nearly 5 metre tall probe set down shortly after 5.30pm UK time on Thursday after a tense descent to Mons Mouton, a high and relatively flat mountain about 100 miles from the moon's south pole.
We're shedding power as fast as we can to keep the vehicle in good health. We are generating power. We are communicating through our telemetry radio.
Athena is one of 10 missions contracted by Nasa's $2.6bn commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) programme to encourage private industry to fly experiments and other equipment to the moon.
The Athena probe is thought to have landed closer to the south pole than any previous lunar mission.
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