Thu Mar 06 11:43:48 UTC 2025: ## Intuitive Machines Aims for Second Moon Landing
**HOUSTON, March 6, 2025** – Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based company, is poised to make history again. Following its successful, albeit slightly sideways, first lunar landing in February 2024, the company is attempting a second touchdown on Thursday, March 6th, at approximately 1732 GMT. This ambitious mission will see the company’s Athena lander, a 4.8-meter hexagonal spacecraft, attempt a landing at Mons Mouton, a plateau near the lunar south pole, a location farther south than any robotic mission has ventured before.
Athena carries a diverse payload including three rovers – MAPP, Yaoki, and AstroAnt – and a unique hopping drone named Grace. These will conduct various experiments, including testing a Nokia Bell Labs 4G cellular network on the lunar surface and attempting the first-ever hop into a permanently shadowed crater. A NASA instrument, PRIME-1, will also drill for ice and other chemicals beneath the surface.
The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, a $2.6 billion initiative partnering with private companies to reduce costs and support the Artemis program, aiming to return humans to the Moon and eventually Mars. The success of this mission is crucial, especially considering the recent successful lunar landing by rival company Firefly Aerospace.
While Intuitive Machines’ first lander, Odysseus, tipped over after a fast landing, the company has implemented significant upgrades to Athena, including improved cabling for the laser altimeter, to ensure a smoother touchdown. However, the mission is not without its challenges. The lack of atmosphere on the Moon necessitates precise thrusting and navigation, and controllers are currently working to restore contact with the Lunar Trailblazer probe, also launched last Wednesday. The success of the mission will be streamed live by NASA an hour before the scheduled landing.
First Piper 