IM-2 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
IM-2 Athena

Names	CLPS 3 PRIME-1
Mission type	Lunar landing
Operator	Intuitive Machines
Mission duration	8 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Athena
Spacecraft type	Nova-C
Manufacturer	Intuitive Machines
Launch mass	2,120 kg (4,670 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	February 27, 2025, 00:16:30 UTC
Rocket	Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1083.9)
Launch site	Kennedy, LC-39A
Contractor	SpaceX
End of mission
Last contact	March 7, 2025, 06:15 UTC
Lunar lander
Landing date	March 6, 2025, 17:28:50 UTC
Landing site	Mons Mouton (84°47′26″S 29°11′45″E / 84.7906°S 29.1957°E / -84.7906; 29.1957)
IM-2 mission insignia Motto: INTER LUCEM ET TENEBRAS (Between Light and Darkness) Intuitive Machines Nova-C ← IM-1 (Odysseus) IM-3 →

IM-2 was a lunar mission run by Intuitive Machines as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. It launched on February 27, 2025, at 00:16:30 UTC. The Nova-C lunar lander, named Athena, reached the surface of the Moon on March 6, 2025, at 17:28:50 UTC. Contact was temporarily lost during the landing process; when it was re-established, it indicated that the spacecraft was not in the correct orientation and one of the two radio antennas was not operating, preventing the spacecraft from generating sufficient power. By March 7, Athena's power had been fully depleted and was not expected to replenish, bringing the mission to an end.

Athena was designed to investigate the presence and quantity of lunar water ice using PRIME-1, a payload consisting of a drill and mass spectrometer. Athena also carried the Micro Nova Hopper named Grace: a drone equipped with a neutron spectrometer intended to explore the permanently shadowed region (PSR) of Marston crater, near the planned landing site. The mission aimed to provide a surface measurement of hydrogen in the PSR – an indicator of solid water ice.

Background

IM-2 is the fourth mission in the CLPS program, in which NASA pays commercial providers to fly experiments to the Moon. The first CLPS attempt was Peregrine by Astrobotic Technology, which launched in January 2024 but failed shortly after launch and did not reach the Moon. The second CLPS mission was IM-1 by Intuitive Machines in February 2024, which placed the Odysseus lander on the Moon, but the landing was rougher than expected, causing the spacecraft to tip over; the mission was deemed a partial success. A third CLPS mission, Blue Ghost Mission 1 by Firefly Aerospace landed without problems on March 2, 2025. The fourth mission, IM-2, was launched on February 27, 2025—en route when the Blue Ghost landing occurred.

Hardware

An additional CLPS contract was awarded to IM in October 2020 to land a second Nova-C lander near the lunar south pole. NASA designated the landing site at a ridge near the Shackleton crater, where there could be ice below the surface. After the rough landing of IM-1, several adjustments were made, including improvements to the primary laser rangefinder system, which helps determine variables such as altitude and horizontal velocity.

The primary payload, PRIME-1, includes the TRIDENT ice drill to sample ice from below the lunar surface and the MSolo mass spectrometer to measure the amount of ice in the samples. ILO-1 prime contractor Canadensys is working to deliver "a flight-ready low-cost optical payload for the ILO-1 mission, ruggedized for the Moon South Pole environment". It could potentially be ready for integration on the IM-2 mission.

The MiniPIX TPX3 SPACE payload, provided by the Czech company ADVACAM, will be onboard the Nova-C lunar lander. This payload is designed to monitor the radiation field on the Moon and help understand how to protect crew and equipment from the negative effects of cosmic rays. This marks the first Czech payload planned to be delivered to the Moon's surface.

During the mission, IM will also deploy a second vehicle, its μNova (Micro-Nova) Hopper. Micro-Nova will separate from the Nova-C lander after landing and function as a standalone hopper lander, exploring multiple difficult-to-reach areas such as deep craters on the lunar surface, by firing hydrazine rockets in controlled bursts to propel itself short distances. It will hop across craters in search of lunar ice, which could contain water critical to future crewed missions to the Moon. Water ice could be processed into rocket propellant or used to support a permanent lunar habitat in the future. Micro-Nova is also planned to take the first pictures from inside craters at the lunar south pole and will be able to carry a 1-kilogram payload for more than 25 kilometers. The hopper will explore permanently shaded regions and could "fly into a lava tube and report images back", according to IM co-founder and CTO Tim Crain.

Space technology company Lunar Outpost will send their first lunar rover, the Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP), on this mission in partnership with Nokia Bell Labs, Quantum Aerospace, and IM. MAPP will collect lunar samples for NASA under a contract worth just $1, which is symbolic of a new incentive for the emerging commercial space industry to access resources in space. MAPP will have a mass of 5-10 kilograms, a payload mass of up to 15 kilograms, and a top speed of 10 cm/s. On its multi-day journey, the rover will autonomously map the lunar surface, capture stereo images and thermal data, and inspect samples of lunar regolith in a special bin mounted on its wheels. Photos of the samples and other data will be transmitted through radio equipment and antennas to communicate with the Nova-C lander. MAPP will snap 3D images and record videos using the RESOURCE camera, developed by MIT. It will also deploy MIT's AstroAnt, a miniature rover the size of a matchbox, to conduct contactless temperature measurements as it drives around on MAPP's roof.

A collaboration in order to demonstrate 4G cellular connectivity, in partnership with Nokia Bell Labs and NASA will be aboard the lander. Nokia's equipment is a Network-In-a-Box and will connect the Nova-C lander with Lunar Outpost's MAPP rover and IM's Micro-Nova Hopper. This 4G/LTE network will provide more bandwidth than the more conventional ultra-high frequency (UHF) systems used for space communication. Nokia says they hope that future missions will use shared infrastructure to interlink bases on the lunar surface.

Yaoki rover

Yaoki is a Moon rover made by Japanese company Dymon [ja]. It weighs 498 grams.

Mission events

Prior to launch

In May 2024, the company announced that IM-2 was entering the final assembly stage. In May, it was reported the company was upgrading both software and hardware, including the landing legs in order for better precision and control during descent and landing on the IM-2 mission. In September 2024, the company said it was on track for launch in January 2025. The Lunar Trailblazer orbiter will be a secondary payload on the same Falcon 9 launch. In November 2024, during an earnings call, Intuitive Machines said the launch of IM-2 was targeting February 2025.

During mission planning, IM-2 intended to land at Shackleton connecting ridge. Nevertheless, prior to launch, the targeted landing site was changed to Mons Mouton, a high plateau near the Lunar south pole which was planned to be the landing site of the cancelled VIPER rover.

Launch

IM-2 launched on February 27, 2025 at 00:16 UTC, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 with a number of other payloads. Following an on-target orbital insertion, Athena deployed 45 minutes after launch and established contact with ground controllers at 01:17 UTC. It was confirmed the next morning that the IM-2 mission was on track for a lunar orbital insertion on March 3, with a landing attempt scheduled for March 6 at 17:31 UTC.

Landing

Three minutes before touchdown at 17:27 UTC on March 6, Athena entered terminal descent due to a plume of lunar dust preventing the vehicle’s lasers and rangefinders from helping the spacecraft navigate as well as blocking radio signals. After a period of no-communication it was confirmed that Athena landed, was detecting the surface gravity of the Moon, and was generating power, but it was reported that one of the two radio antennas had lost its signal. The Intuitive Machines team put Athena in a power-saving "safe mode" in the event of a worst-case scenario, another tip-over like IM-1. After 38 minutes of troubleshooting the Intuitive Machines team determined that Athena was not generating enough power.

NASA and Intuitive Machines held a press conference on the status of Athena at 21:00 UTC at which Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus stated that Athena is not "in the correct attitude" (meaning that the solar panels were not facing the Sun) but that it had begun performing scientific experiments, just at a limited capacity due to the lack of power.

Athena rests sideways in a shaded part of a crater

On March 7, Intuitive Machines announced that downlinked images confirmed Athena is resting sideways in a crater. Payload milestones were accelerated before the batteries depleted. Due to the orientation of the solar panels and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Athena is not expected to recharge, thus concluding the mission.

Post-mission

On March 7, 2025, 16:54:21 UTC, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) imaged the Athena spacecraft landed within the center of a 20 m (66 ft) wide crater, about 23.5 hours after it touched down the lunar surface.

On the same day, Intuitive Machines announced that "the mission [had] concluded and teams are continuing to assess" the collected data.

See also

• List of missions to the Moon
• Chandrayaan-3
• Luna 25
• Smart Lander for Investigating Moon