Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based company, has launched its second lander, named Athena, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The company previously made history by landing a robot on the moon last year, even though the spacecraft ended up toppling over.
Athena is carrying a drill for NASA as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, with the goal of digging below the moon’s surface to collect lunar soil for analysis. The lander is also carrying three robotic rovers and a small flying hopper.
The rover, MAPP, will test the first cellphone network on the moon, while the AstroAnt rover built by MIT will crawl on the surface of MAPP. Another rover, Yaoki, built by a Japanese company, will also accompany Athena. In addition, the hopper on board will offer new opportunities for exploration with the capability to fly long distances on the moon.
Intuitive Machines’ previous lander, Odysseus, experienced issues during landing due to an oversight during launch preparations. Despite landing on its side, the spacecraft was still able to communicate with Earth. Athena is almost identical in design to Odysseus, and engineers have taken extra precautions to ensure a successful landing this time.
Athena is not the only spacecraft heading to the moon. Two other landers, Blue Ghost from Firefly Aerospace and Resilience by Ispace, were launched in January. Blue Ghost is set to land ahead of Athena, while Resilience is expected to arrive in May. With multiple missions headed to the moon, the race for lunar exploration is heating up with new technologies and research opportunities on the horizon.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image of the presented article.
