A second Intuitive Machines spacecraft just landed on the moon — and probably tipped over

Intuitive machines landed on a second spacecraft on the moon, just one year after performing the fame for it First -timeThe Unfortunately, much seems like the first attempt that the company’s spacecraft has suggested him.

At around 12:30 pm on Thursday, the moon lander, known as Athena, touched the surface of the moon. This is the second private spacecraft to land on the moon this week after the Blue Ghost of Firefly Airpace on March 2.

Chief Technology Officer of the intuitive machines said at a press conference that Athena was somewhere inside a 50 meter landing area of ​​Mans Mouton, a flat top mountain on the south pole of the moon. However, he said that the company was still working to determine where Athena had touched.

During the conference, CEO Steve Altemus added that the company does not think that Athena has the right attitude ” – talk on behalf of spaceflight” It is probably finished. “

Ultmes otherwise praised the mission, which he said that last year was more smoothly than traveling to the moon.

The rest of the mission of Athena is now imbalanced. 2 February February SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets the spacecraft, which began to travel for the moon on the Rocket, carried a number of technologies that expected to test intuitive machines.

One is a passive laser retorphlector array, which is intuitive machines to be used to contact other arrivals or orbital spacecraft. It is an important part of technology to hope to create a permanent moon base of NASA – so much that the space agency A $ 4.8 billion contract has been given to intuitive machines To create a communication system at the end of the last year. (Only 150 million dollars guaranted)))

Athena also carries an Ice mining test for NASA, which the agency expects to use to determine whether the moon has enough natural resources in one day to create oxygen of fuel or breathing.

Extra Pay -loads include a rover called map that is believed to test cellular tools from Nokia and Solid-steet storage Bill for the first time as “lunar data center”.