Athena has landed on the moon, but the overall status of the spacecraft remains unclear. The mission’s plans include studies of what lies beneath the lunar surface and a whole lot more
President Trump set the U.S. on a path to sending astronauts back to the lunar surface during his first term. Lately he has expressed more interest in Mars.
The latest mission, referred to as IM-2 or PRIME-1, is slated for a moon landing at 11:32 a.m. CT on March 6. Intuitive Machines and NASA will provide live event coverage, starting at 10:30 a.m. CT.
The striking X mark on the moon, which requires a certain amount of luck to be spotted, will be visible for around four hours tonight.
During the Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), the spacecraft took the first measurements of this kind since those taken by the Apollo missions over half a century ago. While Apollo landed near the moon’s equator, Chandrayaan touched down at a latitude of 69 degrees north—well into the moon’s previously unexplored polar regions.