Intuitive Machines’ spacecraft landed in moon crater, ended up on its side

Intuitive Machines’ robotic spacecraft landed in a crater 250 meters from its intended landing site on the moon and wound up on its side, the company said Friday, ending the company’s second lunar landing attempt prematurely.

Images downloaded from the Athena spacecraft confirmed what officials had feared since it descended toward a large plateau near the moon’s south pole Thursday: The spacecraft was on its side unable to continue to generate power through its solar panels.

“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,” the Houston-based company said in a statement. “The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission.”

The mission came a year after the company’s Odysseus spacecraft became the first U.S. vehicle to reach the lunar surface since the end of the Apollo era in 1972. But that spacecraft also tumbled and one of its landing legs broke, though it was able to communicate with ground controllers.

On Sunday, however, NASA did score a success when Firefly Aerospace’s uncrewed vehicle touched down, making it the second private company to reach the moon.

The missions were carried out as part of a $2.6 billion partnership with the space agency, which is paying companies to deliver science experiments and technology demonstrations to the moon as part of its Artemis program, an effort to eventually return astronauts there. So far, however, the effort is lagging.

Astrobotic, another commercial space company, failed to reach the moon last year after its spacecraft suffered a mechanical problem. And NASA has delayed its human exploration missions because of concerns with the heat shield of the Orion spacecraft that would carry astronauts to the moon. A flight, known as Artemis II, to fly four astronauts around the moon has been pushed back to next year, with a landing on the lunar surface not to come until at least 2027. SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft, which would be used to ferry astronauts to and from the lunar surface, exploded during a test flight Thursday evening.

In a statement Friday, Intuitive Machines said the Athena had enough power to be able to perform some of the scientific objectives for NASA before its batteries died. Ground controllers “were able to accelerate several program and payload milestones,” including an ice drill to cut into the moon’s surface and collect samples and an instrument called a spectrometer to determine gas composition at different depths.

Executives at Intuitive Machines had said no matter the outcome, they would press on with future lunar missions. “I’m incredibly proud of the team, incredibly proud of how well this vehicle performed,” Tim Crain, the company’s mission director told reporters Thursday. “And I will tell you, the future is bright for Intuitive Machines to land lots and lots of cargo on the moon, and I’m excited to do that in partnership with NASA.”