New lunar lander Athena is on the moon, but …

Athena landed on the moon, but on its side

Athena is the second lunar landing mission of Intuitive Machines. The first – Odysseus – landed on the moon on February 22, 2024, but fell over on its side. And it appears Athena has met the same fate. Intuitive Machines said in a press conference on March 6, 2025, that Athena is on the surface of the moon but it doesn’t have the correct “attitude,” as in, it’s not sitting up properly. They are still waiting for data and photos to find out the exact situation.

The company says it is communicating with the lander. It said the team can command payloads and they’re looking to see what objectives they can accomplish in the mission going forward. You can watch the entire press conference at this link. We’ll update the story again when we get more information and images to share.

Meanwhile, the moon is getting crowded. Indeed, on March 2, 2025, Blue Ghost successfully landed on the moon in Mare Crisium. And Japan’s Hakuto-R mission 2 (nicknamed RESILIENCE) is aiming for Mare Frigoris in the coming months.

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Lunar lander Athena had a successful launch

At 7:17 p.m. EST on February 26, 2025, Intuitive Machines’ second mission successfully launched toward the moon on a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. The mission spent a week in space before touching down on the lunar surface near the south pole. Notably, one of the main missions of Athena is to explore the moon looking for water. This mission is a step toward returning humans to the moon with Artemis.

Lunar lander Athena launched to the moon

Intuitive Machines sent its 2nd mission moonward. The newest lunar lander, named Athena, blasted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 26, 2025. In fact, Athena is one of multiple lunar lander missions headed for the moon. CEO Steve Altemus of Intuitive Machines, headquartered in Houston, Texas, said:

Humanity has never witnessed three lunar landers en route to the moon at the same time, and Athena is ready to rise to the occasion.

On January 15, 2025, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and Japan’s ispace RESILIENCE lunar landers into space from Florida. Blue Ghost arrived at the moon on March 2, 2025. Meanwhile, it took Athena about one week to reach the moon. Its landing date was March 6, 2025. Also, RESILIENCE is taking a more leisurely route; it should reach the moon in May.

Athena follows Odysseus

Athena is following in the footsteps of Odysseus – or Odie – which Intuitive Machines launched last year. Odie touched down on the moon on February 22, 2024. It toppled over, however, due to a broken leg, but sent back data for a week from the lunar surface. Notably, it was the first American spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon’s surface since the final Apollo mission touched down in 1972.

What is the goal of Athena?

Athena is a part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. This program is a stepping stone to return humans to the moon with the Artemis program. Intuitive Machines said:

The science and technology payloads sent to the moon’s surface as part of CLPS intend to lay the foundation for future human missions and a long-term human presence on the lunar surface.

Specifically, Athena is aiming for Mons Mouton, an area near the moon’s south pole. Why are all the recent and future missions interested in the lunar south pole? Because scientists think there’s water ice there, an important resource for human missions.

In order to hunt for water, Athena carries two rovers, a “hopper” and a drill. Intuitive Machines said Athena will:

… demonstrate lunar mobility, resource prospecting and analysis of volatile substances from subsurface materials, a critical step toward uncovering water sources beyond Earth.

Bottom line: The lunar lander Athena – Intuitive Machines’ second mission to the moon – made it to the surface on March 6, 2025. Unfortunately, it appears to be tipped over, like the mission before it.

Via Intuitive Machines

Read more: Ice confirmed at moon’s poles

Artemis 2 and 3 moon missions