A robotic private spacecraft designed to provide crucial data for returning humans to the moon toppled over as it landed on the lunar surface, bringing an immediate and premature end to the mission, its operators said on Friday.
Athena, a probe launched by the Texas-based company Intuitive Machines (IM) last month, touched down about 250 miles from its intended landing site near the moon’s south pole on Thursday. Initially at least, it was generating some power and sending information to Earth as engineers worked to make sense of data showing an “incorrect attitude”.
On Friday, however, IM declared Athena dead.
“With the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge,” it said in a statement confirming that the 15ft (4.6 meter) spacecraft was on its side.
The first one was tall and skinny and toppled over after a landing leg malfunctioned. So they sent a second tall skinny probe, loaded with expensive equipment. Aaaand it fell over.
Maybe somebody should tell them about center of gravity and redundant systems.
Get them to watch some robot war shows. Those things all have devices to flip back over.
Flipping over on the Moon could be hard. You coud accidentally jump pretty far.
Cool, more moon litter. Will it end up like the path to the summit of Everest, we have to out signs telling the billionaires to please clean up after themselves?
This article was amended on 8 March 2025. The Athena craft touched down 250 meters, not 250 miles, from its intended landing site.
I bet they had “250m” in the report and the too-US-brained reporter went “hmm, yes. 250 miles”
Well it’s also a US company.
From Texas. They’re not going to attract the best and brightest down there.
Well it’s also a US company.
Are you suggesting a US company that shoots rockets to the moon can’t be arsed to follow even a global standard? Like, who the hell else can it be doing business with if the Imperial standard from the a king 200 years ago is its ride-or-die baggage?
Clearly the moon uses metric.
Sciences and space has used SI for ever….
RIP ):
We’ve all had Kerbal Space Program missions that went like that.
they should just reload the previous save
Time for a new mission to rescue Bill!
8 missions and 8 dead pilots later: ah fuck it
