A photo of the Athena Moon lander lying on its side on the lunar surface has confirmed that the spacecraft suffered a fatal mishap.
Initial signs of trouble emerged soon after Athena’s descent. While the lander reached the Moon’s surface near its intended destination at Mons Mouton, it ultimately came to rest about 800 feet from its target. The spacecraft’s inability to maintain an upright position prevented the majority of its scientific payloads from functioning as planned.
The photo shows a dramatic lunar slope lit by a slither of sunlight as a crescent Earth shines in the background. From its position, Athena is unable to produce power.
“With the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge,” Intuitive Machines says in a statement. “The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission.”
Athena’s failure raises renewed concerns about NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which aims to use private-sector partnerships to deliver scientific instruments to the Moon at a lower cost. Of the four CLPS missions launched so far, only Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander — which touched down last week — has met its science goals without significant issues.
Athena met the same fate as its predecessor, Odysseus, last year. Both of Intuitive Machines’ landers have tipped over upon landing, and a previous mission by Astrobotic Technology failed to reach the Moon entirely due to a propulsion malfunction.
Shares of Intuitive Machines dropped by 20% on Thursday and continued to slide on Friday, dipping below $9 from a high of over $13 before the landing.
NASA officials sought to highlight the mission’s positive aspects. Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s science mission directorate, emphasized that these commercial missions serve as a learning experience.
“Our goal is to set American companies up to establish a lunar economy on the surface,” she says. “And that means that even if it doesn’t land perfectly, we always learn lessons that we can provide and use in the future.”
However, the setbacks raise questions about the viability of NASA’s strategy for lunar exploration, reports The New York Times.
The space agency has already invested heavily in robotic missions, including the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), designed to analyze lunar water resources. Originally planned for delivery aboard Astrobotic’s next CLPS mission, VIPER’s future remains uncertain as NASA reconsiders funding.
Image credits: Intuitive Machines