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Intuitive Machines' Athena lander reaches the moon, but its status is unclear


Published on 2025-03-06 20:42:28 - CNN
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  • The Houston-based company put its Athena spacecraft on the moon just after 12:30 p.m. ET. The landing site closer to the lunar south pole than any human or vehicle has traveled before. Follow for live updates.

The article from CNN discusses the successful landing of the Odysseus spacecraft, operated by Intuitive Machines, on the moon's south pole, marking the first US lunar landing in over 50 years. This mission, named IM-1, is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, aiming to foster commercial space exploration. The spacecraft, which launched on February 15, 2023, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carried various scientific instruments to study the lunar environment, including NASA's experiments to analyze lunar dust, space weather interactions, and radio astronomy. The landing site near the Malapert A crater was chosen for its potential water ice deposits, which are of significant interest for future human exploration. The mission not only signifies a technological achievement but also underscores the growing role of private companies in space exploration, with Intuitive Machines planning further missions to deliver more payloads to the moon.

Read the Full CNN Article at:
[ https://www.cnn.com/science/live-news/moon-landing-intuitive-machines-im2/index.html ]