Athena's lander settled on the moon. He fell over at landing

The Athena lander landed about 160 kilometers from the southern pole of the moon, i.e. “250 meters from the planned landing site” – said representatives of them. At the same time, they emphasized that, contrary to the plans, the device could not be placed vertically. This means not only a lack of communication with the probe, but also a very low probability that its batteries are able to charge.

For this reason, they announced the premature end of the operation. “The mission has come to an end, and the teams continue to evaluate the collected data” – quotes the AFP message. Teams with experts NASA They were to conduct experiments on the surface of the moon for about ten days.

Athena began her journey to the moon on Wednesday, February 26. The mission of the private company Intuitive Machines is an element of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) run by NASA worth $ 2.6 billion. It aims to cooperate with the American Space Agency with the private sector to reduce the costs and support the Artemis program, an initiative aimed at returning astronauts to the moon and ultimately reach Mars.

According to plans, the lander was to reach the Silver Globe on Thursday at 18.32. Shortly after the established landing time, engineers began to receive conflicting information. The engine continued to function, which is why mission controllers began to perform such actions as if landing succeeded. However, the ship did not answer as expected, although the data received did not indicate that there was a breakdown.

It was the second attempt to land the machine by Intuitive Machines. In February 2024, the M-1 lander was the first private ship to land on the moon. Despite the fact that he rolled over, the test was successful. This time the company announced the introduction of significant modifications, including better wiring of a laser altimeter, which gives height and speed readings.

During the Athena mission, she was to study the mountainous area located about 160 kilometers from the southern pole of the moon. Three rover and a “jumping” vehicle called Grace, which will separate from the lander and jumping, will start researching the surrounding area.

The largest atheny rover called MAPP (the size of the beagle dog) was to conduct a 4G mobile network test connecting the machine, lander and Grace.

On Sunday, a successful landing was made by the Blue Ghost TEXSKA company Firefly Aerospace.