Intuitive Machines Reveals Why Its Moon Lander Faceplanted Into a Crater

Earlier this year, an ill-fated lander skidded across the lunar surface and ended up lying sideways in a cold, dark crater. Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander was declared dead on arrival at the Moon. Now, the company has released a report detailing the chain of mishaps that led to its demise. Athena touched down on the Moon on Thursday, March 6, following a week-long journey through space. After a less-than-ideal touchdown, the lunar lander ended up on its side in a shallow crater in the Moon’s Mons Mouton region, 820 feet (250 meters) from its targeted landing site. During an earnings call on Wednesday, Intuitive Machines listed three factors that affected Athena’s ability to land on the Moon, SpaceNews reported. The first issue had to do with the lander’s laser altimeters, instruments designed to help it estimate its distance from the Moon during descent. “In the final phase of descent, we saw signal noise and distortion that did not allow for accurate altitude readings,” Intuitive ... Read full article.