Photo taken on the moon shows what went wrong with an American space company's latest mission
Aerospace company Intuitive Machines launched its lunar lander Athena in February.
The lunar lander traveled through space in SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
It landed on its side in a crater 820 feet away from the intended landing site and is no longer functioning.
Intuitive Machines, an American space company, launched its lunar lander Athena to the moon in late February, but the craft had a rough touchdown, landing in a crater and flipping over on its side.
Athena landed about 820 feet away from its intended landing site, which was in the Mons Mouton region on the moon's south pole, Intuitive Machines said in a press release on Friday.
"Images downlinked from Athena on the lunar surface confirmed that Athena was on her side," Intuitive Machines said, adding that its batteries depleted some time after landing.
The company said it "does not expect Athena to recharge," given the direction of the sun, the orientation of Athena's solar panels, and the frigid temperatures in the crater it had landed in.
The lander was transported to the moon on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
Representatives for Intuitive Machines did not respond to a request for comment.
A photo shared by the company showed the lander on its side on the surface of the moon, with some of the legs it is meant to stand on up in the air.
Intuitive Machines said the mission, IM-2, was intended to "demonstrate lunar mobility, resource prospecting, and analysis of volatile substances from subsurface material."
The company also said that despite the lander landing on its side, its teams are analyzing the data that was collected and that insights from the mission would open up the region, known for harsh conditions, to more space exploration.
NASA also said Intuitive Machines was able to collect some data for the agency before the mission came to its earlier-than-expected end.
"Our targeted landing site near the lunar South Pole is one of the most scientifically interesting, and geographically challenging locations on the Moon," Nicky Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA, said in a statement. "Each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow, and we will use this lesson to propel our efforts to advance science, exploration, and commercial development as we get ready for human exploration of Mars."
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