Intuitive Machines has shared technical details about the cause of the Athena machine crash. It tipped over on its side during a landing on the moon’s South Pole, which took place on March 6, 2025.
Athen was launched as part of the IM-2 mission. It was assigned very ambitious tasks. After landing 160 kilometers from the Moon’s South Pole, Athena was to conduct a series of experiments and technology demonstrations. They included taking a soil sample to look for traces of water, collecting data on radiation conditions and deploying the first 4G network on the Moon. Athena was also supposed to release several mobile devices.
Unfortunately, most of the mission program was disrupted by a failed landing during which the vehicle tipped over on its side. Because of this, it was unable to recharge its batteries, reducing its runtime to 12 hours due to lack of power.
One of the main reasons for the failure was problems with the vehicle’s laser altimeters. During the descent, they produced noise and distortion that prevented accurate altitude readings.
The second factor was the conditions in the southern polar region of the Moon, where, due to the low altitude of the Sun above the horizon, long shadows are formed, complicating the operation of the optical navigation system. The third factor was that the craters looked different under these lighting conditions during the descent than in the reference images obtained by LRO.
According to Intuitive Machines chief executive Steve Altemus, the company will incorporate lessons learned into its next lunar mission, scheduled for 2026. It is planned to install different types of altimeters, tested in conditions close to the real one. The module will also get an illumination-independent speed sensor and an updated crater database.
Altemus also said the company is in talks with NASA and other IM-2 mission customers about a possible payment of up to $14 million in rewards. Despite the failed moon landing, engineers were able to conduct limited testing of some of the payloads. For example, they were able to test the mechanism of NASA’s drill — although it failed to drill the lunar surface as planned.
According to Spacenews
