U.S. Private Company’s Second Lunar Landing Repeats Tipping and Side Landing Mishap | WPN World People News

The American private space company Intuitive Machines successfully landed its lander "Athena" on the Moon on the 6th, Eastern Time. However, due to a suspected issue with the laser rangefinder during landing, the lander tipped over, once again landing on its side, similar to last year's lunar landing incident.

In February of last year, Intuitive Machines became the first private company to send a spacecraft to the Moon. However, during the "IM-1" mission, the "Odysseus" lander tipped over and landed on its side, overshadowing this historic achievement.

In this second lunar mission, Intuitive Machines deployed the hexagonal lander "Athena" for the "IM-2" mission, targeting Mons Mouton, a location closer to the lunar south pole than any previous target. Unfortunately, "Athena" repeated history by landing on its side.

The Intuitive Machines team is currently analyzing telemetry data to assess the position and orientation of "Athena" and to verify whether the instruments are functioning properly. "Athena" carries a miniature robot and a small lunar rover, and the team hopes to proceed with the original plan of exploring the crater near the landing site and testing communication capabilities on the Moon.

It is reported that Intuitive Machines' third lunar mission, originally scheduled for next year, may also face delays.