Athena Lander Heads to Moon South Pole with NASA Experiments

Athena Lander Heads to Moon South Pole with NASA Experiments \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Intuitive Machines launched its second lunar lander, Athena, aboard a SpaceX rocket, aiming for a March 6 landing near the moon’s south pole. The mission includes a drone named Grace, designed to hop into a pitch-black crater and search for frozen water. NASA is funding the mission with $62 million as part of its Artemis program to prepare for future astronaut missions. The launch comes amid an unprecedented lunar exploration race, with multiple spacecraft heading to the moon.

Intuitive Machines’ Athena Mission: Quick Looks

• Lander’s Destination: 100 miles from the moon’s south pole, near a permanently shadowed crater.
• Drone Exploration: Grace will hop into the crater, using thrusters, cameras, and lasers for navigation.
• NASA’s Investment: $62 million paid to Intuitive Machines for delivery of scientific instruments.
• Lunar Water Hunt: Instruments from Hungary and Germany will analyze the crater’s interior for trapped ice.
• Rising Moon Race: The launch follows recent U.S. and Japanese lunar missions, with Firefly Aerospace landing this weekend.

Deep Look

The race to explore the moon’s uncharted territories is intensifying, and Intuitive Machines has launched its second lunar lander, Athena, aboard a SpaceX rocket. This mission is particularly ambitious: it includes a drone named Grace, designed to hop into a crater that has never seen sunlight, potentially uncovering frozen water deposits that could support future astronauts.

After a fast-track journey, Athena is expected to land on March 6—a crucial milestone in NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the moon.

Aiming for the Moon’s Mysterious South Pole

Athena is targeting a landing site 100 miles (160 km) from the moon’s south pole, an area of great interest to scientists because of its permanently shadowed craters. These craters are believed to contain vast amounts of frozen water, which could be converted into drinking water, breathable air, and even rocket fuel for deep-space missions.

The lander will deploy Grace, a 3-foot drone named after computing pioneer Grace Hopper, to conduct a first-of-its-kind exploration inside a crater 65 feet deep.

“It will be the first up-close peek inside one of the many shadowed craters dotting the moon’s poles,” said Trent Martin, senior vice president of space systems at Intuitive Machines.

A Second Attempt After a Historic First Landing

This is Intuitive Machines’ second lunar mission. The company made history last year as the first U.S. firm to land on the moon in over 50 years. However, that mission suffered a critical failure when the lander’s altimeter malfunctioned, causing it to tip over on its side.

To avoid a repeat, the company has fixed the instrument issues and dozens of other technical problems. Unlike the last mission, Athena must land upright so that:

• The Grace drone can safely deploy for its crater-hopping experiments.
• A NASA drill can collect lunar soil samples for analysis.

“Certainly, we will be better this time than we were last time. But you never know what could happen,” Martin added.

The Science Behind the Mission

Athena is carrying millions of dollars’ worth of scientific payloads, including:

• A drill from NASA to collect lunar soil samples and analyze them for water and other resources.
• Hungarian and German instruments to measure conditions inside the crater, including temperature and potential ice deposits.

Meanwhile, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer satellite, which launched aboard the same SpaceX rocket, will map the distribution of water across the moon’s surface in the coming months.

The presence of usable lunar water is a critical factor in the success of future human missions, reducing the need to transport supplies from Earth.

How the Grace Drone Will Explore the Crater

Grace is equipped with hydrazine-fueled thrusters, cameras, and lasers for autonomous navigation. The plan is for it to:

1. Make three test hops across the lunar surface, gradually increasing in height and distance.
2. Dive into the shadowed crater, where sunlight never reaches, making it one of the most challenging environments to explore.
3. Transmit data from inside the crater, potentially confirming the presence of trapped ice deposits.

If successful, this could revolutionize lunar exploration by demonstrating aerial mobility on the moon, allowing future missions to explore hard-to-reach locations.

The New Lunar Race: A Surge in Moon Landings

Never before have so many spacecraft been heading to the moon at the same time.

• Last month, U.S. and Japanese companies launched landers on the same rocket.
• Firefly Aerospace, another Texas-based company, is set to land on the moon this weekend.
• More private and international lunar missions are planned for 2024 and 2025.

NASA’s $62 million contract with Intuitive Machines is part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which outsources lunar deliveries to private companies in preparation for human exploration under the Artemis program.

“It’s an amazing time. There’s so much energy,” said Nicky Fox, NASA’s science mission chief.

Future Implications: A Lunar Economy?

The success of private missions like Athena could pave the way for a lunar economy, with companies competing to:

• Deliver cargo and scientific payloads to the moon.
• Extract lunar resources for commercial use.
• Build infrastructure for future moon bases.

Intuitive Machines, like other space startups, is also selling payload space on its lander to private customers. The Falcon rocket used for Athena’s launch carried a private spacecraft that will chase after an asteroid, an early test for future asteroid mining.

The rapid expansion of private lunar exploration suggests that the next decade could bring unprecedented advancements in space resource utilization.

Conclusion: A Bold Step Toward Sustainable Lunar Exploration

With Athena, Intuitive Machines is attempting a landmark lunar mission that could:

✅ Demonstrate a successful soft landing at the moon’s south pole.
✅ Showcase drone-based exploration in permanently shadowed craters.
✅ Advance NASA’s search for water resources on the moon.

While landing on the moon remains one of the hardest challenges in space exploration, this mission represents another major leap for private space companies.

As NASA and commercial partners prepare for long-term human presence on the moon, missions like Athena could lay the foundation for sustained lunar exploration—and ultimately, the first human colonies beyond Earth.

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