| Advertisement |
March 6 (UPI) -- The commercially and privately constructed Athena spacecraft is returning data to NASA scientists on Earth, they announced Thursday. But the craft did not land exactly as expected and scientists are not sure of its exact location. It's the second such craft to land a moon mission in less than a week.
Advertisement
"We do know that it is returning data, and we look forward to actually being able to work with Intuitive Machines on a plan to return as much science data and technology data as we can during its stay on the moon," Dr. Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate said at a Thursday press conference.
The Athena lander is on the lunar surface charging its batteries and transmitting data, but Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said scientists still have to make adjustments to perform the necessary tasks.
"I do have to tell you that we don't believe we're in the correct attitude on the surface of the moon yet," Altemus said during the news conference.
"Again, I don't have all the data yet to say exactly where what the attitude of the vehicle is. We're collecting photos now and downlinking those, and we're going to get a picture from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera from above, from orbit, and we'll confirm that over the coming days as we get that data down," he said.
"Any time that you ship a spacecraft to Florida for flight and end up a week later operating on the moon, I declare that a success."
Developed by the Intuitive Machines, Athena is about the size of a dishwasher and was to explore the moon's south polar region with a weeklong mission to search for potential water ice below the lunar surface.
However, it won't be alone on the Earth's main natural satellite, as the Blue Ghost lander, developed by Firefly Aerospace, successfully landed on the near side of the moon Sunday in the Mare Crisium basin region. Blue Ghost's mission is to conduct experiments supplied by NASA.
Both Blue Ghost and Athena are part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, devised to sustain the development of moon landers by private companies. The end goal of the program is to one day return astronauts to the moon, after hiring businesses to land technology, cargo and science experiments there.
Athena entered lunar orbit Monday, gathering data as IM checked the lander's systems, then completed its Descent Orbit Insertion at 4:33 a.m. CST Thursday in preparation for its touchdown on Mons Mouton, a lunar mountain.
Athena then completed its landing at 11:57 p.m. CST, but then required several minutes for the IM crew monitoring the landing to confirm the touchdown was successful, and that Athena would be able to carry out its mission.
The craft is equipped with experimental cellular communications gear, a rover and a device known as a hopper, which can leave Athena to explore a shadowed crater with the goal of finding water ice.
The presence of such ice could allow future astronauts to develop water, rocket fuel and air while on the moon, so that such necessities wouldn't need to be shipped there.
Athena also will have the unique experience of seeing a solar eclipse March 14, but unlike an earthbound eclipse, the Earth itself will obscure the view of the sun.
Athena is the second spacecraft landed by Intuitive Machines, which first sent a craft dubbed Odysseus to the moon in February 2024, making it the first American spacecraft to land on the lunar surface since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
