This orientation prevented the lander's solar panels from capturing enough sunlight, and Intuitive Machines declared Athena dead on March 7. (The company's first moon lander, named Odysseus, also tipped over during its historic February 2024 touchdown but was able to operate for longer on the lunar surface.)

For the second time in two years, a commercial lunar lander built and operated by Intuitive Machines has fallen over on the moon

The Houston-based company that was set to deliver a historic water-hunting mission to the lunar south pole says its Athena lander is dead on the moon.

Data sent to Earth by its MAPP moon rover on Intuitive Machines' ill-fated IM-2 mission will help Colorado company Lunar Outpost prepare for future lunar voyages.

After hours of uncertainty, officials from the Houston company said there are clues that the spacecraft is on its side, which could limit the mission’s scientific accomplishments.

Chris Stott, founder of St. Petersburg’s Lonestar Data Holdings, relayed the news to the rest of the team on video call. An unmanned lunar lander named Athena, carrying the company’s 8-terabyte data center,

The Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover aboard the toppled Intuitive Machines Athena lunar lander survived the landing that took out its parent spacecraft and even managed to transmit some data from the moon's surface.