Intuitive Machines' Athena lunar lander has landed near the lunar south pole, but concerns about its orientation have arisen, as it may not be upright like expected. This issue echoes the experience of the company's earlier lander, Odysseus, which also toppled during landing. Athena's mission, part of a collaboration with NASA, aims to advance lunar exploration and identify water presence. Despite operational challenges, the lander is currently communicating with Earth, though its lifespan could be reduced due to sub-optimal performance and required power conservation measures.
Our belief is that we’re not in the correct attitude on the surface of the Moon yet again. We will confirm that over the coming days.
We’re oriented somewhat on our side, indicating potential limitations on mission duration and the objectives we can accomplish moving forward.
We have taken some power conservation steps to determine how long and what objectives we can achieve during this mission.
The IM-2 mission is part of Intuitive Machines’ partnership with NASA to assist in future crewed missions back to the Moon.
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