NASA received some scientific data from the IM-2 mission before Intuitive Machines declared an early end to the mission at 12:15 a.m. CST on Friday, the agency confirmed.
The IM-2 mission, part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative under the Artemis campaign, was designed to deliver technology and science to the Moon, including a drill to extract lunar soil and a spectrometer to detect potential fuel-producing volatiles.
Originally planned to land at Mons Mouton, the Nova-C lander named Athena touched down at approximately 11:30 a.m. on March 6, about 400 meters from its intended site. Later images confirmed the lander was on its side, preventing full operation of its drill and other instruments before its batteries depleted.
Despite the setback, Athena achieved a significant milestone by landing closer to the lunar South Pole than any previous mission. NASA's associate administrator for science, Nicky Fox, emphasized that the site was both scientifically intriguing and geographically challenging. “Each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow,” Fox said, reaffirming NASA’s commitment to advancing lunar exploration and preparing for Mars missions.
Before the mission ended, NASA’s PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1) suite demonstrated its hardware's full range of motion in the Moon’s extreme conditions. The Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) detected elements likely linked to gases from the lander’s propulsion system. Despite being unable to meet all objectives, NASA associate administrator Clayton Turner noted that the data collected would still inform future exploration.
The mission delivered 250 megabytes of data before concluding. NASA’s Laser Retroreflector Array, which serves as a reference point on the lunar surface, remains affixed to the lander. Some aspects of other payloads, including Intuitive Machines' Nova-C Hopper and Nokia's 4G/LTE Tipping Point technology, were tested in-flight and on the surface.
IM-2 was launched on February 26 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center. Intuitive Machines is scheduled for two more NASA deliveries, IM-3 in 2026 and IM-4 in 2027. Under the CLPS initiative, NASA has awarded five vendors a total of 11 lunar deliveries, sending over 50 instruments to different lunar locations, including the far side and the South Pole region.
NASA remains committed to supporting commercial partners despite the challenges of landing and operating on the Moon. “Empowering American companies to deliver science and technology to the Moon produces scientific results and continues development of a lunar economy,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for Exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
With additional lunar missions ahead, NASA and its commercial partners continue working toward long-term lunar exploration and the future of human spaceflight beyond Earth’s orbit.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
