Intuitive Machines, a private space company, launched its lunar lander Athena on February 26, 2025, aiming to explore the moon’s south pole. The lander, which carries a drone named Grace, will venture into a dark crater that remains permanently in shadow. This mission follows the company’s previous lunar landing attempt and is scheduled to land on March 6, 2025.

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• Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander, launched on February 26, 2025, will explore the moon’s south pole, targeting a landing on March 6, 2025.
• The mission is supported by SpaceX and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
• Athena’s drone, named Grace, will make test hops to explore a permanently shadowed lunar crater.
• The company’s previous landing attempt last year failed when the lander tipped over due to a malfunctioning distance-measuring instrument.
• The landing location is just 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the lunar south pole, with the ultimate goal of exploring a 65-foot (20 meters) deep shadowed crater.
• Grace, the drone, will use hydrazine-powered thrusters and onboard cameras to make three test hops across the surface.
• Scientists believe these shadowed craters may contain frozen water, potentially useful for future space exploration.
• Intuitive Machines is receiving $62 million from NASA to fund its experiments and equipment for this mission.
• The Athena mission includes scientific instruments from Hungary and Germany, aiming to gather data on potential ice deposits at the moon’s south pole.
• The mission also includes NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer satellite, which will map lunar water distribution and will be launched separately.