Intuitive Machines' IM-2 lunar lander reached the moon, but its status is unclear
The second U.S.-built lunar spacecraft to reach the moon within a week reached the surface near the moon's south pole, but its position isn't clear.
Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission, a part of NASA's $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, was on track for its target landing at 12:32 p.m. Thursday near the moon's south pole region. But after a signal loss from one of its radios, both its position and precise location on the surface couldn't be confirmed.
The lander, called Athena, is a Nova-C class lunar lander and carries a drill and mass spectrometer capable of boring into the moon's soil to search for highly valued water ice. Such ice holds promise for future crews in its potential for conversion to drinkable water and oxygen.
Thursday's landing attempt comes on the heels of a March 2 landing by Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1, another CLPS mission tasked with using NASA instruments to survey. the moon's environment on the Earth-facing side.
IM-2, which launched on Feb. 26 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is the second moon mission for Houston-based Intuitive Machines, whose IM-1 lander, Odysseus, became the first American spacecraft since the Apollo era to land on the moon in February 2024. Although Odysseus tipped over on touchdown, it continued to send mission data back to Earth.
Where was IM-2 planning to land on the moon?
The IM-2 lander is believed to have reached the moon's south pole region, but its precise position and location are unclear. Its intended landing area was Mons Mouton, an area believed to have water ice deposits. Here's a look at the mission profile showing the lander's journey from its Feb. 26 launch to today's arrival on the moon:
The NASA payload on the Athena lander includes NASA's PRIME-1 drill suite and a mass spectrometer capable of analyzing the lunar soil. It also includes a small Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform rover and a Micro Nova Hopper named Grace.
While Athena's engine shut down and the craft began drawing solar power, engineers are waiting for further communications from Athena and other telemetry to determine the mission priorities.
"I don't have all the data yet to say exactly what the attitude of the vehicle is," Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines said in a Thursday press conference. "We're collecting photos now and downlinking those, and we're going to get a picture from the lunar reconnaissance orbiter camera from above, and we'll confirm that over the coming days."
Contributing: Eric Lagatta, George Petras
SOURCES NASA, Intuitive Machines, Reuters