Private firm accelerates moon mission in the latest surge of lunar landing efforts.

A private company successfully launched a new lunar lander, Athena, on Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This mission aims to reach the moon’s south pole, targeting a unique area that contains a crater shrouded in darkness and never exposed to sunlight. The lander was sent into space with the help of SpaceX, and its scheduled landing date is March 6. The company hopes to avoid the issues faced by its previous attempt, during which an earlier lander tipped over while landing.

This launch marks a significant moment in space exploration, as it is the first time numerous spacecraft have aimed for the moon simultaneously. Just last month, companies from the U.S. and Japan collaborated to send different landers to the moon. Firefly Aerospace, another U.S. company, is expected to land its spacecraft there first, having launched earlier.

The two landers from the United States are carrying important scientific equipment valued in the tens of millions of dollars for NASA, which is gearing up to send astronauts back to the moon.

Nicky Fox, the science mission chief at NASA, expressed excitement about this new phase of lunar exploration, stating, “It’s an amazing time. There’s so much energy.” This is not the first time Intuitive Machines has ventured to the moon. Last year, they accomplished the first U.S. landing on the moon in over five decades. Unfortunately, the lander encountered a problem with its distance-measuring instrument, leading to a rough landing and tipping over.

The team at Intuitive Machines has addressed that previous issue and made multiple other improvements. A repeat of the previous landing mishap might hinder not only the lander but also a small drone and two rovers from successfully exploring the moon’s surface. Additionally, NASA’s drill requires a stable landing to effectively collect lunar soil samples.

Trent Martin, a senior vice president of space systems at Intuitive Machines, stated, “Certainly, we will be better this time than we were last time. But you never know what could happen.” Successfully landing on the moon is a significant challenge, with only five countries—Russia, the U.S., China, India, and Japan—having accomplished it in the past. The history of lunar landings includes many failures and wreckage scattered across its surface.

The Athena lander, which stands at about 15 feet (4.7 meters), aims to touch down approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the lunar south pole. Nearby, there is a mysterious crater that is perpetually shadowed. Within this area, a small drone named Grace, after renowned computer scientist Grace Hopper, will test its ability to hop across the moon’s surface before making a crucial landing in the deep, dark crater.

Grace is designed to make a series of three hopping tests using its thrust powered by hydrazine. It will rely on cameras and lasers for navigation. If successful in its tests, the drone will descend into the 65-foot (20-meter) deep crater to search for frozen water and take scientific measurements. Scientists believe that ice storage in these craters could potentially be utilized by future astronauts for drinking water, breathable air, and even rocket fuel.

NASA has invested $62 million in Intuitive Machines to facilitate this mission, which includes sending its drill and other scientific instruments to the moon. Intuitive Machines has also allowed other organizations to share space on the lander. Among them is NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer satellite, which will independently travel to the moon to map areas where water may be found beneath the surface. Additionally, a private spacecraft will be sent to approach an asteroid for a future flyby, contributing to plans for asteroid mining.