After a successful launch last week aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission landed on the Moon on March 6 shortly after 11:30 a.m. EST. The craft is transmitting back to its control center and able to collect some level of solar power. However, its landing orientation and the status of other aspects of the mission remain unclear.
The lander, nicknamed Athena, was meant to touch down on the plateau atop the mountain Mons Mouton roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the lunar south pole. As the craft neared the end of its 11-minute engine burn to slow its velocity and carry it to the surface, flight controllers lost contact with Athena, although presenters on the company’s livestream said that communication issues close to the surface were expected.
As time went on, however, mission controllers became visibly anxious and turned their focus to retrieving images from the craft. Ten minutes after the lander was supposed to be on the ground, flight controllers commanded Athena to turn off its engine and shut down some of its electronics to conserve power. Intuitive Machine executive and the mission’s flight director Tim Crain said that the lander was collecting power and that the team was working to determine the orientation of the lander.
This is not Intuitive Machine’s first brush with uncertainty after a lunar landing. On Feb. 22, 2024, the Houston-based company’s first lunar mission, IM-1, touched down harder than expected on the Moon near Malapert A crater, 186 miles (300 km) from the South Pole. A pre-launch wiring error on the lander, known as Odysseus, disabled its built-in laser rangefinders. As a result, the craft had to fly its landing without a precise altitude readout and skidded across the surface as it landed, breaking a leg and coming to rest at a 30° angle. The scientific payloads aboard were able to collect some data, but because of the lander’s angle, some were starved of solar power and shut off earlier than anticipated.
More information on the IM-2 mission is expected throughout the day, and Intuitive Machines is scheduled to hold a press conference in the afternoon.