Private mini rover aboard sideways Athena moon lander was ready to roll — but it couldn't get out
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Intuitive Machines' Athena mission is already over, but silver linings have emerged from the short-lived lunar south pole landing effort.
Athena beamed back images from the surface of the moon despite landing sideways on March 6. This unhelpful orientation meant, however, that the lander could not generate power due to the position of its solar arrays and saw the mission end just a day after touchdown.
Further updates have revealed that another private spacecraft aboard the lander, the tiny Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover, was able to return useful data before the lack of power ended the mission.
"Our Lunar Voyage 1 MAPP rover successfully made it to the moon, collected data from the lunar surface and in transit, and proved MAPP was ready to drive," U.S. space exploration company Lunar Outpost announced in a statement.
Related: Private Intuitive Machines moon lander declared dead after falling on its side in crater at the lunar south pole
The four-wheeled vehicle survived the landing and was ready to roll but for the orientation of the Athena lander, which prevented its deployment, according to the company.
"Intuitive Machines landing on its side prevented MAPP's deployment," Lunar Outpost's statement read. "Our data paints a clear picture that MAPP survived the landing attempt and would have driven on the lunar surface and achieved our mission objectives had it been given the opportunity."
The 1.5 foot-long (45 centimeters) rover carried a range of payloads. It planned to test Nokia's LTE/4G communications system for the moon and collect a small amount of lunar regolith to be sold to NASA for a sum of $1, with the symbolic transaction intended to set a legal precedent for space resource utilization.
Related stories:
— SpaceX's Starship will fly Lunar Outpost's rover to the moon
— The moon: Everything you need to know about Earth's companion
— There's lots of water on the moon for astronauts. But is it safe to drink?
None of these goals can be realized following the suboptimal landing, but data returned from MAPP's time in transit to the moon, in lunar orbit and on the surface validated a range of systems and components that will be useful for Lunar Orbit's upcoming missions.
"We look forward to our upcoming missions — including exploring [lunar region] Reiner Gamma (Lunar Voyage 2), heading back to the south pole of the moon (Lunar Voyage 3), and having the first Australian rover mission to the moon (Lunar Voyage 4)," Lunar Outpost stated. "With our capabilities clearly demonstrated in space, we look forward to further showcasing what our mobility systems can achieve."
Intuitive Machines' third mission is currently scheduled to launch as soon as late this year and will carry Lunar Outpost's Lunar Voyage 2 rover.
Lunar Outpost is also competing for a NASA contract to build an unpressurized rover for a lunar test mission ahead of NASA's Artemis 5 mission, currently scheduled for 2030.
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