Private spacecraft to land on the moon for second time in a week

Both missions are part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which the agency set up to support the development of moon landers by private-sector companies. More than a dozen U.S. companies are taking part in the initiative, which is a key part of NASA’s broader goal of returning astronauts to the moon.

NASA eventually plans to hire at least some of the companies to deliver science experiments, technology and other cargo to the moon.

The Athena landing will be the second moonshot for Intuitive Machines. The company made history in February 2024 by becoming the first to land a commercially built spacecraft on the moon. Last year’s feat was also the first time an American spacecraft had touched down on the moon in more than 50 years — since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

That lander, called Odysseus, wound up tipping over on its side after the landing, though the flight was still seen as a success.

Both Intuitive Machines missions have targeted the moon’s south polar area. Odysseus landed near a crater called Malapert A, close to the lunar south pole, and Athena will aim for a plateau on a giant, flat-topped mountain called Mons Mouton.

Scientists think water ice may be relatively abundant at the lunar south pole. Water is considered a critical resource for future crewed missions to the moon, particularly for potential long-term stays there.

Athena is carrying several rovers with it to the moon, including a suitcase-sized vehicle built by the Colorado-based company Lunar Outpost, named MAPP (short for Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform). The rover is designed to roam around the landing site and capture 3D images of the terrain.

Additionally, a thumb-sized rover known as “AstroAnt,” developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is expected to wheel around on the roof of the MAPP rover to assess the vehicle’s health and take periodic temperature readings.

Furthermore, mission controllers plan to release a drone, dubbed Grace, to make a series of hops around Athena’s landing site. The robot is expected to cover around 650 feet in four hops and could explore a nearby crater to scan for traces of hydrogen and deposits of ice, according to Intuitive Machines.

While Athena is on the lunar surface, the plan also calls for it to test a 4G communications system developed by Nokia. Company officials have said that such a network could be used to relay communications, telemetry or other data between different spacecraft on the moon.

Moonmania won’t end after this week: This summer, a lander and tiny rover developed by a Japanese company called ispace will attempt to land on the moon, near the center of a vast basin close to the moon’s north pole called Mare Frigoris.