Insider Brief
- Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander tipped over after landing but transmitted 250 megabytes of data to NASA before its batteries were depleted.
- The IM-2 mission, part of NASA’s CLPS program, aimed to test technology for extracting lunar resources but was unable to fully operate its drill and instruments due to the lander’s position.
- Despite the setback, NASA emphasized that the mission provided valuable insights and remains committed to working with commercial partners on future Moon landings.
A lunar lander operated by Intuitive Machines toppled over after landing on the Moon but still managed to send NASA some data before its mission ended early, the agency said Friday.
The IM-2 mission, part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, was designed to test technology for future Moon missions. The lander, named Athena, touched down inside a crater on March 6, about 1,300 feet from its intended target near Mons Mouton, a mountain near the lunar South Pole. Images later confirmed it had landed on its side, preventing full operation of its drill and other instruments. The lander sent 250 megabytes of data before its batteries were depleted.
Despite the setback, the mission marked the closest any spacecraft has landed to the Moon’s South Pole, a region of interest because of its potential ice deposits, NASA reported. NASA’s PRIME-1 suite, including the TRIDENT drill and a mass spectrometer, was meant to analyze lunar soil for water and other volatiles that could one day provide fuel or breathable oxygen for astronauts. The drill was able to demonstrate its full range of motion in space, and the spectrometer detected gases likely from the lander’s propulsion system.
“Our targeted landing site near the lunar South Pole is one of the most scientifically interesting, and geographically challenging locations, on the Moon,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow, and we will use this lesson to propel our efforts to advance science, exploration, and commercial development as we get ready for human exploration of Mars.”
The IM-2 mission was Intuitive Machines’ second Moon delivery under the CLPS program, which pays private companies to carry NASA science and technology to the lunar surface. The lander launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 26. Intuitive Machines was responsible for launch, landing, and operations under the contract. The Houston-based company has two more NASA Moon deliveries planned, one in 2026 and another in 2027.
NASA officials acknowledged that the mission did not fully meet its goals but emphasized that even partial success helps refine future missions.
“While this mission didn’t achieve all of its objectives for NASA, the work that went into the payload development is already informing other agency and commercial efforts,” said Clayton Turner, associate administrator for space technology, NASA Headquarters. “As we continue developing new technologies to support exploration of the Moon and Mars, testing technologies in-situ is crucial to informing future missions. The CLPS initiative remains an instrumental method for achieving this.”
The lander carried additional technology experiments, including NASA’s Laser Retroreflector Array, a passive instrument designed to serve as a reference point for future lunar navigation. It remains attached to the lander, even though the spacecraft is no longer operational. The mission also included Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Hopper and a 4G/LTE communications system developed by Nokia, which completed partial objectives before the lander’s power ran out.
The CLPS initiative is central to NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send humans back to the Moon and establish a long-term presence. Five private vendors have been awarded 11 lunar delivery contracts through CLPS, with more than 50 instruments planned for future Moon landings. The contracts, which run through 2028, have a cumulative maximum value of $2.6 billion.
Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said the agency remains committed to supporting private vendors despite the challenges of landing on the Moon.
“Empowering American companies to deliver science and tech to the Moon on behalf of NASA both produces scientific results and continues development of a lunar economy,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for Exploration in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “While we’re disappointed in the outcome of the IM-2 mission, we remain committed to supporting our commercial vendors as they navigate the very difficult task of landing and operating on the Moon.”
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