Athena moon mission comes to early end after lander tips over in off-target touchdown in a crater
CBSN
A dramatic photograph from Intuitive Machines' Athena moon lander shows it touched down Thursday in a crater near the lunar south pole and tipped over on its side. Given a low sun angle and the orientation of the lander's solar cells, the spacecraft's battery quickly drained, bringing the mission to an early end, company officials said Friday
"Images downlinked from Athena on the lunar surface confirmed that Athena was on her side," the company said on its website.
"After landing, mission controllers were able to accelerate several program and payload milestones, including NASA's PRIME-1 (drill) suite, before the lander's batteries depleted," the statement continued. "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. The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission."
