The “Athena” probe of the Texas space company Intuitive Machines has landed on the moon. However, it could be overturned when putting on. “We do not believe that we are in the correct attitude on the surface of the moon,” said CEO Steve Altemus on Thursday evening at a press conference a few hours after the lander on the moon.
The landing of “Athena” was planned for 6:32 p.m. on the south of the moon. Twenty minutes later, company spokesman Josh Marshall said: “Athena is on the surface of the moon. We try to find out in which angle the device is located, ”said Marshall before the live broadcast ended. Scientists in the control center of intuitive machines in Houston tried to evaluate the data until the end. Live pictures from the probe in the landing approach could not be seen.
The company intuitive machines from Houston in the US state of Texas had the first private company to bring the lander “Odysseus” to the moon. The probe was also overturned when landing in February 2024, which ended the mission prematurely. This could also threaten “Athena”, the successor mission of “Odysseus”.
Planned experiments on the brink
The mission goal of “Athena”-the probe started on board a Falcon 9 rocket from Space X on February 27-should the test of various technologies with which future manned moon missions could be supported, including a system for drilling to ice, an experiment for 4G mobile radio and the hopping drone “Grace Hopper” developed in Germany.
According to the plan, the aircraft would have hopped into a moon crater in the shade. Because of the lack of atmosphere on the moon, the traditional shape of the flight is not possible there. Hoping devices could therefore play an important role in exploring the moon surface. It is currently open whether the drone can be activated.
The pressure of success on intuitive machines is high after the drone “Blue Ghost” of the Texas Rival Firefly Aerospace had successfully landed on the moon on Sunday. Both missions are part of a billion -dollar program of the American space agency NASA, with which private companies are to be integrated into the preparation of future manner of moon missions.
Since Donald Trump took office, however, there has been speculation that the moon program of NASA could be shortened or even deleted. Instead, Trump and his close consultant, the private space entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk, pursue the goal of bringing people to Mars.
