https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/athena-landed-in-a-dark-crater-where-the-temperature-was-minus-280-f/ Skip to content Ars Technica home Sections Forum Subscribe * AI * Biz & IT * Cars * Culture * Gaming * Health * Policy * Science * Security * Space * Tech * Feature * Reviews * Store * AI * Biz & IT * Cars * Culture * Gaming * Health * Policy * Science * Security * Space * Tech Forum Subscribe Story text Size [Standard] Width * [Standard] Links [Standard] * Subscribers only Learn more Pin to story Theme * HyperLight * Day & Night * Dark * System Search dialog... Sign In Sign in dialog... Sign in IM-2 review Athena landed in a dark crater where the temperature was minus 280deg F "You lose it, and then what do you do? You don't give up. You go back in." Eric Berger - Mar 13, 2025 4:55 pm | 74 [cam_1_2000_2] The Athena lander nears the lunar surface. Credit: Intuitive Machines The Athena lander nears the lunar surface. Credit: Intuitive Machines Text settings Story text Size [Standard] Width * [Standard] Links [Standard] * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav The Athena spacecraft was not exactly flying blind as it approached the lunar surface one week ago. The software on board did a credible job of recognizing nearby craters, even with elongated shadows over the terrain. However, the lander's altimeter had failed. So while Athena knew where it was relative to the surface of the Moon, the lander did not know how far it was above the surface. An important detail, that. As a result, the privately built spacecraft struck the lunar surface on a plateau, toppled over, and began to skid across the surface. As it did so, the lander rotated at least once or twice before coming to a stop in a small, shadowed crater. "The landing was kind of like sliding into second base," Steve Altemus, chief executive officer of Intuitive Machines, which built the lander, said in an interview Thursday. Cold and lonely It has been a busy and tiring week for the chief of a company that seeks to help lead the development of a lunar economy. Expectations were high for this, the company's second lunar landing attempt after its Odysseus vehicle became the first private spacecraft to ever make a soft landing on the Moon, last year, before toppling over. In some ways, this mission was even more disappointing. Because Athena skidded across the lunar surface, it dredged up regolith. When it came to a stop, some of this material was blown up into the solar panels--already in a sub-optimal location on its side. The spacecraft's power reserves, therefore, were limited. Almost immediately, the team at Intuitive Machines knew their spacecraft was dying. "We knew we had slid into a slightly shadowed crater, and the temperature was very cold," Altemus said. "The solar arrays had regolith on them, and they weren't charging, the ones pointing up, enough to give us sufficient power to power the heaters to keep it warm enough to survive." [CSYS-12963-20250307_030144_199963-scaled] It's cold and lonely on the Moon. Credit: Intuitive Machines It's cold and lonely on the Moon. Credit: Intuitive Machines The temperature in the crater where Athena ended up was approximately minus 280deg Fahrenheit (minus 173deg C). With the solar arrays generating only about 100 watts of power, there was not enough energy to both power the spacecraft's heaters as well as communicate back to Earth using Athena's high-gain antenna. So instead of limping along for 50 hours, mission operators decided to operate as robustly as they could for 13 hours and get down as much data as they could. During this time the lander was able to accomplish some of its objectives. By landing near the south pole, Athena returned valuable data and imagery to NASA about unexplored vistas. The lander extended NASA's drill (but did not operate it); private customers, including Nokia and Lonestar Data Holdings, were able to get some useful information from their payloads. But there were also some major disappointments. Lunar Outpost could not deploy its small rover, and an innovative hopper could not be fired up to roam across the Moon. On balance, it was pretty disappointing, especially considering that Odysseus still did most of its science last year, even on its side. You go back in, start training again Yet, what Altemus wants people to understand--which he acknowledges is somewhat difficult to explain--is that this mission was largely a success. What can he possibly mean by that? Compared to the company's first spacecraft, Athena flew smoothly. During the company's first lunar flight in 2024, mission operators came into work each shift to put out the fire of the day. By contrast, Athena made it all the way to within miles above the Moon without significant problems. In doing so, the company validated the spacecraft's methane-based propulsion system, which allows for a "fast" transit to the Moon in less than a week. In addition, the company proved out its communications technology that will be used as part of a lunar data relay network that NASA has contracted with Intuitive Machines to develop. Moreover, Athena attempted to land within a few degrees of the south pole, a challenging location due to the solar angle and uneven terrain, and made it down without crashing. Of course, the most important thing a lunar lander is supposed to do is land on the Moon, which Intuitive Machines did not do successfully. For the second mission in a row, the lander's altimeter failed. Although it was a different problem with the spacecraft's altimeter this time--it's still unclear why Athena's rangefinder failed, perhaps due to a thermal or vibration event--it is frustrating to fail for a similar reason. But all the pieces for success are there, and in the demanding environment of spaceflight, Intuitive Machines is close, Altemus said. [CSYS-12958-20250304_183052_862432] Landing is the most important step. Credit: Intuitive Machines Landing is the most important step. Credit: Intuitive Machines In an effort to buck up the troops, Altemus has been communicating this message to employees over the last week. "It's like losing a Final Four game or an NBA title," he said. "You lose it, and then what do you do? You don't give up. You go back in, you start training again, you start working out again, and that's what the team's doing." He said the company is well-capitalized and already under contract with NASA for two additional landing missions later this decade. It also has the lunar relay network contract valued up to $4.8 billion, and more. The financial runway to achieve Intuitive Machines' ambitions remains open. "I would say it's more disappointing than really a material setback," Altemus said. "The world was watching, and we put our heart and soul into this company and this vehicle. And I look in the eyes of the team, and they had such ambitions for this mission, Athena and Gracie the hopper. I mean, it was a big leap. It might have been too big a leap on the second mission." Photo of Eric Berger Eric Berger Senior Space Editor Eric Berger Senior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 74 Comments Comments Forum view Loading Loading comments... Prev story Next story Most Read 1. Listing image for first story in Most Read: OpenAI declares AI race "over" if training on copyrighted works isn't fair use 1. OpenAI declares AI race "over" if training on copyrighted works isn't fair use 2. 2. AI coding assistant refuses to write code, tells user to learn programming instead 3. 3. UMass disbands its entering biomed graduate class over Trump funding chaos 4. 4. Google has a fix for your broken Chromecast V2 unless you factory reset 5. 5. Athena landed in a dark crater where the temperature was minus 280deg F Customize Ars Technica has been separating the signal from the noise for over 25 years. With our unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is the trusted source in a sea of information. After all, you don't need to know everything, only what's important. More from Ars * About Us * Staff Directory * Newsletters * Ars Videos * General FAQ * RSS Feeds Contact * Contact us * Advertise with us * Reprints Do Not Sell My Personal Information (c) 2025 Conde Nast. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Ars Technica Addendum and Your California Privacy Rights. Ars Technica may earn compensation on sales from links on this site. Read our affiliate link policy. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Conde Nast. Ad Choices