Intuitive Machines is expected to launch its second lunar lander this week

Intuitive Machines to launch Athena lunar lander on Feb. 26 with NASA instruments for resource use demonstration.

: Intuitive Machines aims to launch its second lunar lander, Athena, on February 26, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission, under NASA's CLPS program, will attempt a lunar landing around March 6. Athena carries NASA instruments, including a drill and mass spectrometer, to explore volatiles at the lunar South Pole. This mission is another chance for Intuitive Machines following Odysseus' toppled landing last year.

Intuitive Machines is preparing to launch its second lunar lander, nicknamed Athena, on February 26, following its successful but imperfect moon landing last year with the Odysseus spacecraft. The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, with the launch facilitated by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, aiming for a lunar surface touchdown on or around March 6.

Athena is equipped with NASA instruments, notably a drill and a mass spectrometer, as part of its scientific objectives. These tools are tasked with conducting one of the first on-site demonstrations of resource use on the moon, specifically measuring volatiles in the soil at the lunar South Pole.

The mission marks a crucial opportunity for Intuitive Machines to achieve a stable landing, as Odysseus, despite landing on the lunar surface, ended up on its side. Successfully landing the Nova-C lander, Athena, is pivotal for future commercial lunar ventures and advancing in-situ resource utilization on the moon.

Lunar LanderNASAspace exploration