Back Intuitive Machines-2 Afrikaans IM-2 BS Intuitive Machines Mission 2 Czech IM-2 Finnish Intuitive Machines 2 French IM-2 ID IM-2 Italian IM-2 Japanese IM-2 Latvian/Lettish Intuitive Machines Mission 2 Russian
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 | This article documents a current or recent spaceflight. Details may change as the mission progresses. Initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. For more information please see WikiProject Spaceflight. |
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| Names | CLPS 3 PRIME-1 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Lunar landing |
| Operator | Intuitive Machines |
| COSPAR ID | 2025-038A |
| SATCAT no. | 63099 |
| Mission duration | 8 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Athena |
| Spacecraft type | Nova-C |
| Manufacturer | Intuitive Machines |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | February 27, 2025, 00:16:30 UTC[1] |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1083.9) |
| Launch site | Kennedy, LC-39A |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | March 7, 2025, 06:15 UTC[2][3][4] |
| Lunar lander | |
| Landing date | March 6, 2025, 17:28:50 UTC |
| Landing site | Mons Mouton (85°S 31°W / 85°S 31°W)[5] |
 IM-2 mission insignia Motto: INTER LUCEM ET TENEBRAS (Between Light and Darkness) | |
IM-2 was a lunar mission by Intuitive Machines as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.[6][7] 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 is not in the correct orientation, one of the two radio antennas is not operating, and the spacecraft is not generating sufficient power. By March 7, Athena’s power had been fully depleted and was not expected to wake up, bringing the mission to an end.[2][3]
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:[2] 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 aims to provide a surface measurement of hydrogen in the PSR – an indicator of solid water ice.[8][9]
- ^ "PRIME-1 (IM-2)". nextspaceflight.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
- ^ a b c "IM-2". intuitivemachines.com. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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cnn-20250226was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ David, Leonard (September 12, 2024). "Ice-hunting Lunar Trailblazer and IM-2 nearly ready for January 2025 launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- ^ "Launch of Intuitive Machines' Athena lander is targeted for no earlier than late February". intuitivemachines.com. January 7, 2025.
- ^ David, Leonard (June 14, 2024). "Moon ice in the Artemis era: what we still don't know". spacenews.com. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
- ^ "NASA, Intuitive Machines Announce Landing Site Location for Lunar Drill". nasa.gov. November 3, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
