Countdown for 'Athena' Landing on the Moon

The private company 'Intuitive Machines,' which achieved the first private 'soft landing' on the Moon last year, is preparing for the landing of its second lander on Thursday, March 7, at a location near the Moon's South Pole, further south than any robot has ever gone. NASA will broadcast the landing live. The hexagonal lander 'Athena,' measuring 4.8 meters tall—about the size of an adult giraffe—will begin its landing process one hour before the exact touchdown time. NASA's science deputy, Niki Fox, likens this mission to a scene from popular science fiction films. Last year, 'Intuitive Machines' made history as the first private company to achieve a 'soft landing' on the Moon, but a rapid descent caused one of the lander's legs to get stuck on the lunar surface, tipping it over and ultimately limiting its ability to generate solar energy, shortening its mission. Now, the pressure is on the company as its competitor 'Firefly' successfully landed its lander named 'Blue Ghost' on Sunday, marking it as the second private company to reach the Moon. Intuitive Machines claims to have upgraded its hexagonal lander, which has a taller and slimmer shape compared to 'Blue Ghost.' Both missions are part of NASA's $2.6 billion program aimed at partnering with the private sector to reduce costs and support the 'Artemis' program to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually Mars. The Athena lander is targeting high-altitude areas about 160 kilometers from the Moon's South Pole, where it will deploy three rovers and a hopping drone named 'Grace' (inspired by the famous mathematician Grace Hopper). One of Grace's ambitious goals is to hop to a location that has never seen sunlight, which, if successful, would mark humanity's first presence in that area. The lack of atmosphere on the Moon makes traditional flight impossible, and robots like Grace are considered crucial technology for future lunar explorations. Until Intuitive Machines' first mission, only national space agencies had achieved such success, with NASA's last landing being 'Apollo 17' in 1972. The Athena lander was launched last Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which also carried a NASA probe, and currently, the challenge they face is re-establishing contact between ground controllers and a small satellite designed to map water distribution on the Moon. These missions are taking place at a critical time for NASA, as some speculate that NASA may reduce or even cancel lunar missions in favor of prioritizing Mars, a goal supported by former President Donald Trump and his advisor Elon Musk. The $1.8 billion investment by SpaceX in Florida and the new missions to the Moon reflect America's efforts to normalize space exploration.