Private Spacecraft Athena Attempts Historic Moon Landing

The robotic lander, dubbed Athena, was developed by the Texas-based company Intuitive Machines. It launched into space on February 26 and has spent the past week journeying to the moon. At roughly the size of a dishwasher, the six-legged craft aims to touch down at a site in the moon’s south polar region, then spend a week looking for the possible presence of water ice below the lunar surface.

Athena’s Mission and Objectives

If successful, that would make Athena the second vehicle to touch down on the moon in just five days. A separate mission, also based in Texas, landed there on Sunday, within a sprawling, 350-mile-wide basin on the near side of the moon (the side that always faces Earth). Both missions are part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which the agency set up to support the development of moon landers by private-sector companies.

NASA’s Vision for Lunar Exploration

More than a dozen U.S. companies are taking part in this initiative, which is a key part of NASA’s broader goal of returning astronauts to the moon. The Athena landing will be the second moonshot for Intuitive Machines. The company made history in February 2024 by becoming the first to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Targeting the Moon’s South Polar Region

Both Intuitive Machines missions have targeted the moon’s south polar area. The previous lander, named Odysseus, landed near a crater called Malapert A, close to the lunar south pole, while Athena will aim for a plateau on a giant, flat-topped mountain called Mons Mouton. Scientists believe that water ice could be present in this region, which is considered a critical resource for future crewed missions to the moon, particularly for potential long-term stays.

Innovative Technology on Board

Athena is carrying several rovers with it to the moon, including a suitcase-sized vehicle built by the Colorado-based company Lunar Outpost, named MAPP (short for Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform). This rover is designed to roam around the landing site and capture 3D images of the terrain.

Additionally, a thumb-sized rover known as “AstroAnt,” developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is expected to wheel around on the roof of the MAPP rover to assess the vehicle’s health and take periodic temperature readings. Furthermore, mission controllers plan to release a drone, dubbed Grace, to make a series of hops around Athena’s landing site. The robot is expected to cover around 650 feet in four hops and could explore a nearby crater to scan for traces of hydrogen and deposits of ice.

Testing New Communication Technologies

While Athena is on the lunar surface, the plan also calls for it to test a 4G communications system developed by Nokia. Company officials have stated that such a network could be used to relay communications, telemetry, or other data between different spacecraft on the moon.

Looking Ahead: Future Lunar Missions

The excitement surrounding lunar exploration won’t end after this week. This summer, a lander and tiny rover developed by a Japanese company called ispace will attempt to land on the moon, near the center of a region that has garnered significant interest from scientists and space enthusiasts alike. As the race to explore the moon continues, the outcomes of these missions could pave the way for future human exploration and potential colonization of our celestial neighbor.

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