The Athena Lunar Lander Also Fell Over on its Side
The Athena lunar lander (IM-2) has been declared dead after it failed to stick the landing on the surface of the Moon. The second commercial lander launched by Texas-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines attempted to reach the lunar surface on March 6th. However, it ended up in a crater near the lunar south pole, where it then fell on its side. The company confirmed that the mission was dead this morning in a statement. Per that statement, Intuitive Machines declared that while the lander was no longer operational, the mission was not a total write-off:"[T]he IM-2 mission lunar lander, Athena, landed 250 meters from its intended landing site in the Mons Mouton region of the lunar south pole, inside of a crater. This was the southernmost lunar landing and surface operations ...