A second Intuitive Machines spacecraft just landed on the moon — and probably tipped over

Intuitive Machines has landed a second spacecraft on the moon, just one year after accomplishing the feat for the first time ever. Unfortunately, much like that first attempt, it seems the company’s spacecraft may have tipped on its side. The lunar lander, called Athena, touched down on the moon’s surface at around 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. It’s the second private spacecraft to land on the moon this week, after Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost touched down on March 2. Intuitive Machines’ chief technology officer said in a post-landing press conference that Athena is somewhere inside the 50-meter landing zone on Mons Mouton, a flat-topped mountain on the moon’s south pole. But he said the company was still working on determining where, exactly, Athena touched down. CEO Steve Altemus added during the conference that the company doesn’t think Athena is at the “correct attitude” — spaceflight speak for “it probably tipped over.” Altemus otherwise praised the mission, which he said went ... Read full article.