Intuitive Machines Lander Reaches Lunar Surface but May Be on Its Side

After becoming the first private company to touch down on the lunar surface last year, Intuitive Machines is gearing up for a second Moon landing near the satellite’s south pole. Hopefully this time, the lander will stay upright. Update: Thursday, March 6, 12:55 p.m. ET: Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander is on the surface of the Moon, but the company is still working to figure out the orientation of the vehicle. Original article follows. Intuitive Machines is targeting a landing opportunity on Thursday at 12:32 p.m. ET. The company’s Nova-C lunar lander, named Athena, will aim to touch down in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s south pole. Athena was built by Intuitive Machines for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The landing attempt will be streamed live on Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission page and on NASA+. You can also (conveniently!) watch the attempt on the video feed below. The live stream is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET. Athena launched Feb ... Read full article.