Ill-Fated Moon Lander Unexpectedly Woke Up and Sent One Last Message

Space can be an unforgiving place. Last week, a lunar lander skidded across the surface of the Moon and ended up in a cold, dark crater, ending its mission before it began. Now, details newly revealed by Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines relay its Athena lander’s final moments and how the spacecraft briefly sputtered to life after powering down.

Athena touched down on the lunar surface on Thursday, March 6, following a week-long journey to the Moon. The lander ended up on its side in a shallow crater in the Moon’s Mons Mouton region, 820 feet (250 meters) from its targeted landing site. Less than a day after its touchdown, Athena was declared dead. But now, Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus has revealed that the company’s lunar lander wasn’t dead on arrival, and that the “mission pressed forward” before its untimely end.

Intuitive Machines also released a 360-degree image of Athena’s descent that was stitched together using the lander’s four on-board cameras.

On its way down to the Moon, Athena’s altimeter failed, meaning that the lander couldn’t measure how far it was from the lunar surface. As a result, the lander hit a lunar plateau, toppled over, and skidded its way across the surface before ending up in a small crater, according to Ars Technica. While sliding across the jagged terrain of the Moon’s south pole, the lander kicked up dust from the surface, some of which ended up on its solar panels. In addition to the lander being on its side, the dust meant there would be little chance Athena could use its solar panels for power.

The lander was packed with NASA science tools and instruments as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Immediately after touchdown, the team accelerated payload operations, transmitting precious data before Athena’s batteries completely depleted, according to Altemus. “In just 12 hours of surface operations, we gathered extraordinarily valuable data for our customers,” he wrote in his statement.

This is Intuitive Machines’ second trip to the Moon, and the second time its lander ended up in an unfortunate position.The company launched its first lunar lander, Odysseus, in February 2024. Odysseus managed to reach the lunar surface, but its landing wasn’t so smooth either. One of the lander’s legs may have gotten caught during its descent, causing it to tip over on its side and end up lying sideways on a rock. The mission did operate for seven days on the lunar surface, and the Intuitive Machines thus became the first company to land a private lander on the Moon.

Athena wasn’t as lucky, but it did have some parting words for its team. “In the mission’s final moments, Athena powered down. But unexpectedly, the lander woke up one last time, sending a transmission that resonated beyond technology—it was personal,” Altemus wrote. “Athena’s last data transmission contained the names of every Intuitive Machines team member who made her mission possible.”