This orientation prevented the lander's solar panels from capturing enough sunlight, and Intuitive Machines declared Athena dead on March 7. (The company's first moon lander, named Odysseus, also tipped over during its historic February 2024 touchdown but was able to operate for longer on the lunar surface.)

Less than a day after Intuitive Machines landed on the Moon, the company declared an early end to its mission after its Athena spacecraft would up lying sideways on the lunar surface.

Intuitive Machines on Friday declared an early end to its Athena moon mission after the lander touched down sideways a day earlier. The Houston-based company has now suffered two landing mishaps in two years. A photo released Friday showed the lander’s legs in the air.

Lunar Outpost’s MAPP rover mission would have seen it become the first U.S. robotic rover on the surface of the moon. It would have also tested first-of-its-kind lunar 4G Nokia cellphone technology and completed the first sale of so-called “space resources” in human history—by scooping up a small amount of moon dirt for NASA.

For the second time in two years, a commercial lunar lander built and operated by Intuitive Machines has fallen over on the moon

Chris Stott, founder of St. Petersburg’s Lonestar Data Holdings, relayed the news to the rest of the team on video call. An unmanned lunar lander named Athena, carrying the company’s 8-terabyte data center,