The Athena lunar lander built by Intuitive Machines launched on an eight-day journey to the moon for NASA’s water-hunting mission, PRIME-1. The spacecraft shared its first “selfies” from orbit, showing Earth in the background. Another American-made spacecraft named Blue Ghost is also on its way to the moon. Both missions aim to study different regions of the moon’s surface in preparation for future crewed missions to Mars under NASA’s Artemis program. The Athena lander is set to land on the moon’s south pole on March 6. The IM-2 mission will target a landing near Mons Mouton, where water ice is thought to be abundant. The main experiment onboard Athena is NASA’s PRIME-1, which will excavate and measure lunar soil to detect accessible resources. Water ice could potentially be used for drinking, breathing, and as a source of rocket fuel for future missions. The mission also includes testing a Nokia LTE 4G communications system and deploying a propulsive drone. The spacecraft reached its intended orbit after launching from Kennedy Space Center and is in excellent health as it prepares for its journey towards lunar orbit. Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus called the mission an extraordinary moment in advancing lunar services to establish a foothold on the moon and reach further into the Solar System.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image associated with the presented article. Due to copyright reasons, we are unable to use the original images. However, you can still enjoy the accurate and up-to-date content and information provided.
