Intuitive Machines has announced the delivery of the Athena spacecraft to Cape Canaveral. It will be launched to the Moon as part of the IM-2 mission.

In 2024, Intuitive Machines became the first private company in history to land its spacecraft on the Moon. Despite the fact that one of its struts broke during landing, causing it to roll onto its side, the Odysseus probe operated for a week, carrying out most of its planned science program.
Intuitive Machines intends to follow up this success with its second lunar mission, IM-2. Like the previous mission, it is carried out under the CLPS program. As part of this program, NASA awards contracts to private companies to deliver various cargoes to the Moon.
The Athena spacecraft will have to land near Shackleton Crater at the Moon’s South Pole. Its main task is to drill the surface to take a sample of the substance and look for traces of water ice in it. Athena will also deliver several robots to the Moon, including the Micro-Nova vehicle. It will move across the lunar surface by jumping.

Together with Athena, several companion satellites will also travel to the Moon. One of them will be used as a mission repeater. Another vehicle called the Lunar Trailblazer is built by NASA. It will search for deposits of water ice.
Athena is currently scheduled to launch on February 27. The ballistic window for the flight to the Moon will be opened within four days. In addition to Athena and lunar cubesats, the Falcon 9 rocket will also carry the Odin probe built by AstroForge. Its target will be the near-Earth asteroid 2022 OB5.
According to Intuitive Machines