NASA’s Athena Lander No Longer Functional—New Image Reveals What Happened on The Moon

Science News: NASA’s Athena lunar lander has stopped functioning after an unsuccessful landing near the Moon’s south pole, where it ended up on its side in a crater.

Designed by Intuitive Machines, the privately built lander missed its intended target by over 800 feet (250 meters) and tipped over upon touchdown.

The company officially concluded the mission, stating that teams are continuing to analyze the collected data.

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Before going silent, Athena’s four-wheeled rover managed to transmit images confirming its position and activate some scientific experiments.

However, due to the lander’s orientation and the extreme cold in the crater, recharging its batteries seems impossible.

A Setback for NASA’s CLPS Program

Athena was part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which aims to facilitate private-sector lunar deliveries while preparing for future astronaut missions.

This was the company's second Moon landing attempt, its first, a year ago, turned to be disaster s as well as it resulted in a sideways landing, though the spacecraft remained functional for a longer period.

Despite the mission being declared dead, mission controllers managed to activate several key experiments, including NASA’s PRIME-1 suite, before Athena’s power depleted.

Challenges of the Moon’s South Pole

The Moon’s south polar region presents unique challenges due to its rugged terrain, limited sunlight, and difficult communication conditions. Athena’s landing site was the closest any spacecraft has come to the south pole—just 100 miles (160 km) away. NASA hopes to send astronauts to this region by 2027, as its craters are believed to contain frozen water that could support future lunar missions.

While Athena’s mission faced difficulties, another Texas-based company, Firefly Aerospace, successfully landed its Blue Ghost spacecraft in the Moon’s northern latitudes earlier in the week. Firefly reported that eight out of ten NASA experiments on Blue Ghost had already achieved their objectives, with the lander expected to remain operational for another week.

NASA had invested $62 million in this mission to transport its three experiments to the Moon. While Athena’s mission didn’t go as planned, it still provided valuable insights that could inform future lunar exploration efforts.

(With inputs from AP)