
Last year, Intuitive Machines successfully landed a robot on the moon. Will the Houston-based company manage to repeat this feat while ensuring the spacecraft stays upright this time?
The spacecraft, known as Odysseus, touched down on the lunar surface in February, despite ending up on its side. Remarkably, it was able to communicate with Earth. This mission marked Odysseus as the first commercially operated lander to reach the moon and the first U.S. spacecraft to achieve a soft landing there since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Now, Intuitive Machines’ second lander, named Athena, is ready for launch. Here are the essential details about the upcoming flight on Wednesday.
When is the launch, and how can I view it?
Athena, alongside three other spacecraft, will lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The scheduled launch time is 7:16 p.m. Eastern Time on February 26, with over a 95% probability of favorable weather conditions.
Should any weather or technical difficulties occur, there will be alternative launch opportunities within a four-day window. If these aren’t utilized, the mission would need to be postponed by a month.
NASA will begin its coverage of the launch approximately 45 minutes prior to liftoff.
Where is Athena headed?
Assuming the launch takes place on Wednesday, Athena will aim to land on March 6 in Mons Mouton, located about 100 miles from the moon’s south pole. This location will mark it as the closest landing site to the south pole achieved by any previous lunar mission.
