CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — On Wednesday, a private enterprise made strides toward the moon’s rarely illuminated south pole with the launch of another lunar lander. Intuitive Machines’ lander, coined Athena, embarked on its journey aboard a SpaceX rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, aiming for a moon landing scheduled for March 6. This mission hopes to sidestep the misstep of its predecessor, which fell over upon landing.
In an era teeming with lunar missions, numerous spacecraft are simultaneously targeting the moon. Recently, U.S. and Japanese firms launched their landers on a shared rocket aimed at Earth’s celestial companion. Of these, Firefly Aerospace, based in Texas, is expected to reach its destination first, benefiting from a considerable lead.
Both U.S. landers carry significant NASA-funded experiments, meant to bolster astronaut return missions to the moon. As quoted by NASA’s head of science missions, Nicky Fox, the pre-launch atmosphere was full of excitement. “It’s an amazing time. There’s so much energy,” Fox expressed a few hours prior to liftoff.
This isn’t Intuitive Machines’ inaugural lunar attempt. Their Texas-based operation marked its first U.S. moon landing in more than five decades last year. However, a malfunctioning instrument led to a harsh landing and a tipped-over lander. Improvements have since been made, rectifying the previous landing issues and many others. A stable upright touchdown this time is pivotal for deploying the lander’s drone and rovers, as well as ensuring the function of NASA’s drill to collect subsurface samples.
Trent Martin, senior vice president of space systems at Intuitive Machines, acknowledged the complexities surrounding lunar landings: “Certainly, we will be better this time than we were last time. But you never know what could happen.”
Achieving a successful lunar landing is a rare feat, accomplished by only five nations over the years: Russia, the U.S., China, India, and Japan, and the moon’s scars bear testament to numerous failed attempts.
Athena, standing 15 feet tall, eyes a precise landing spot 100 miles from the moon’s south pole. Located nearby is a perpetually shadowed crater, the final destination for a drone named Grace. Named in honor of computing pioneer Grace Hopper, the drone will undertake three practice hops with the aim of eventually descending into the 65-foot-deep crater.
Outfitted with science instruments from Hungary and Germany, the drone will assess crater conditions while searching for ice. Such explorations will offer critical insights, given scientists’ inclinations that these shadowed craters might harbor abundant ice. If verified, this ice may serve future generations of explorers as essential resources, including water, breathable air, and even propellant.
NASA has allotted $62 million to Intuitive Machines for transporting their drill and related experiments. The company, beyond NASA’s mission, sold additional payload space on their lander, complementing this with ride-sharing on the Falcon rocket. Among the passengers was NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer satellite, aiming to orbit the moon and chart the water beneath its surface. Another private endeavor aboard was bound to pursue an asteroid flyby, an initial step towards eventual asteroid mining endeavors.
