NASA/Joel Kowsky via flickr
The vehicle's landing on the Mons Mouton plateau close to the Moon's South Pole is set for March 6. The module's lunar mission is planned for 10 Earth days.
Athena will perform scientific studies for NASA and evaluate technologies for upcoming human missions to the Moon. The module carries the Trident drill as its payload, which can penetrate the lunar surface to a depth of 1 meter, along with the MSolo mass spectrometer for gas analysis from soil samples. The module will send the initial cellular communication station, a Nokia 4G transmitter, to the Moon.
Athena will additionally provide the Micro Nova Hopper mini-hopper. This vehicle will traverse the lunar terrain by leaping. It will move towards Crater H, an area that is never lit by the Sun (1 km from Athena's landing area). It will look for signs of water and volatile substances there. This is the second landing module from Intuitive Machines, following Odysseus, which touched down close to Malapert A crater in February 2024.
source: cnn.com
Athena will perform scientific studies for NASA and evaluate technologies for upcoming human missions to the Moon. The module carries the Trident drill as its payload, which can penetrate the lunar surface to a depth of 1 meter, along with the MSolo mass spectrometer for gas analysis from soil samples. The module will send the initial cellular communication station, a Nokia 4G transmitter, to the Moon.
Athena will additionally provide the Micro Nova Hopper mini-hopper. This vehicle will traverse the lunar terrain by leaping. It will move towards Crater H, an area that is never lit by the Sun (1 km from Athena's landing area). It will look for signs of water and volatile substances there. This is the second landing module from Intuitive Machines, following Odysseus, which touched down close to Malapert A crater in February 2024.
source: cnn.com