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The Athena Lunar Lander Also Fell Over on its Side

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Astronomy

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 ...

Intuitive Machines lunar lander healthy, but apparently on its side – Spaceflight Now

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SpaceX

Intuitive Machines lunar lander healthy, but apparently on its side – Spaceflight Now

Intuitive Machines Athena lander pictured in low lunar orbit prior to its final descent to the surface. Image: Intuitive Machines. A commercially built moon lander built by Houston-based Intuitive Machines landed near the moon’s south pole Thursday, but telemetry indicated it ended up on its side. The lander is “alive,” officials said, but it’s not yet known what mission objectives might still be met. Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said “we don’t believe we’re in the correct attitude (orientation) on the surface of the moon yet again. I don’t have all the data yet to say exactly 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...

Meet the Group Monitoring Oregon’s Shrinking Glaciers – State of the Planet

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Science

Meet the Group Monitoring Oregon’s Shrinking Glaciers – State of the Planet

As a climate scientist with over 25 years of experience, Anders Carlson understands the significant loss Oregon’s glaciers are facing. In 2020, this awareness led him to found the Oregon Glaciers Institute (OGI), a nonprofit institute run by a core group of volunteers, to research glacial health and inform the Oregon public about the far-reaching impacts of glacial loss in the state. In November 2024, OGI published its four-year impact report. The report underscores the danger facing Oregon’s glaciers. In 2021, OGI completed a field-based count of glaciers and determined that the state had 60 individual “flowing ice bodies” as recently as the 1970s. Now, only 27 remain. Oregon Glaciers Institute members conducting field work on Jefferson Park Glacier. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Bakken...

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NASA

NASA to launch Earth science smallsat mission on Firefly Alpha

AUSTIN, Texas — NASA selected Firefly Aerospace to launch a trio of Earth science smallsats that will study the formation of storms.The agency said March 4 that it awarded a task order through its Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract to Firefly to launch the three-satellite Investigation of Convective Updrafts (INCUS) mission. NASA did not disclose the value of the task order, a practice it has followed on other VADR awards.The INCUS satellites will launch on a Firefly Alpha rocket from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. NASA did not disclose a launch date in its announcement but Firefly, in its own statement, said the launch would take place as soon as 2026. The INCUS mission is working towards a launch in October 2026, according to its website.INC...

SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now

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SpaceX

SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now

A SpaceX rocket ascends from Space Launch Complex 40 on the Starlink 12-20 mission on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Image: Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched its first Falcon 9 rocket of the month and its first Starlink flight since reportedly reaching 5 million subscribers for the satellite internet service on Sunday night. Liftoff of the Starlink 12-20 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 9:24 p.m. EST (0224 UTC on March 3). This was SpaceX’s 26th Falcon 9 rocket launch of the year. SpaceX used the Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1086, to launch the mission. It flew for a fifth time after launching as a side booster on the Falcon Heavy GOES-U mission and then as a Falcon 9 booster for the third pair of Maxar’s WorldView Legion satellites and two Starli...