Private Lunar Lander 'Athena' Touches Down Near Moon's South Pole
The condition of the Intuitive Machines spacecraft remains uncertain as it aims to search for water ice and test new technologies over a 10-day mission.
- The 'Athena' lander, operated by private US company Intuitive Machines, successfully landed near the Moon's South Pole, though its operational status is still unclear.
- This marks the company's second lunar landing attempt after its 2024 mission, in which the 'Odysseus' lander tipped over post-landing.
- Athena's mission includes searching for water ice using NASA-provided tools and deploying a German-made 'Grace Hopper' drone to explore a permanently shadowed lunar crater.
- The lander also carries technology to test the establishment of a 4G mobile network on the Moon, a potential milestone for lunar infrastructure.
- The mission is expected to last 10 days, after which the lunar night will render the lander inoperative, limiting the timeframe for experiments.
Stern 
WELT 
Der Tagesspiegel 
Die Zeit 
Süddeutsche Zeitung 
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 
Sächsische Zeitung 