Private Lunar Lander Set to Attempt Historic Moon Landing Thursday

Intuitive Machines’ Athena spacecraft aims to land near the Moon’s south pole, marking the second private lunar landing in a week.

The Athena lander, developed by Intuitive Machines, is scheduled to land on the Moon at 12:32 p.m. EST on Thursday, March 6, targeting a site near the lunar south pole.
If successful, this will be the second private lunar landing within a week, following Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost mission last Sunday.
Athena is tasked with searching for water ice, deploying rovers, testing a 4G communications system by Nokia, and conducting NASA-funded experiments, including an ice drill and a hopping exploration drone.
The mission builds on Intuitive Machines' 2024 lunar landing, which was the first successful private Moon landing, though the lander tipped over after touchdown.
Live coverage of the landing will begin at 11:30 a.m. EST via NASA+, with additional 3D imagery and updates streamed through a collaboration between MIT and Comcast.