Athena’s Rough Landing Still a Win for Lunar Science
Intuitive Machines’ Athena spacecraft misjudged its altitude last week and landed in a dark crater, toppling over and kicking up dust that blocked its solar panels. With just 13 hours of power, the team grabbed all the data they could. Despite the rough landing, the mission was a success—Athena flew smoothly, proved its methane-powered engine, and showed its comms tech can support NASA’s lunar network.