Not Alice, but Athena: To The Moon!

Kennedy Space Center, FL. – On the evening of February 26, 2025, a Falcon 9 rocket fired its engines sending a rideshare mission on a journey to the Moon. The Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission liftoff came at 7:16 PM EST from Launch Complex 39-A. This is part of the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) Initiative and Artemis project.

Aboard this rideshare flight are: Nova-C IM-2, a lunar lander named “Athena” which will use a drill named PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment) to look for ice, a lander named Lunar Trailblazer (SIMPLEx5), a transfer ship named CHUMERA GEO-1 and a deep space probe named Odin that is heading towards asteroid 2022 OB5. The IM-2 lander is looking towards a March 6, 2025 on the lunar surface near the Moons South Pole.

Athena is placing Prime-1 (comprised of 2 instruments) on the surface and it will drill (Trident) depths of up to 1 meter taking various samples of lunar soil. The second instrument is a mass spectrometer (MSOLO) which will analyze the sample & look for water.

A second device built by Intuitive Machines, the MicroNova will depart from Athena and partake in collecting unspecified scientific data & hopefully return back to Athena.

In a pre-launch media briefing: "It kinda feels like this mission is right out of one of our favorite sci-fi movies," said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the NASA's Science Mission Directorate “We're looking to show that we can find what resources already exist on the moon for a sustained human presence. And specifically, we're looking for water and other volatiles."

In a continued statement from NASA: “With each CLPS mission, the United States is leading the way in expanding our reach and refining our capabilities, turning what was once dreams into reality,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “These science and technology demonstrations are more than payloads – they represent the foundation for future explorers who will live and work on the Moon. By partnering with American industry, we are driving innovation, strengthening our leadership in space, and preparing for sending humans farther into the solar system, including Mars.”

In 2024, Intuitive Machines sent the IM-1 lander to the Moon, however at landing, the craft tipped over.

While mankind continues to send robotic missions to the Moon, what mysteries might be revealed in the years and decades that lie ahead with these machines and when might the next footprints be left on the lunar surface?

Shortly after the launch of IM-2, from nearby Launch Complex 40, SpaceX sent the next batch of Starlink satellites into orbit on the 12-13 Mission. Both first stage boosters making successful landings downrange after launch.

Story by: Michael Howard with Graham Smith

Image Credit: Graham Smith