At 20:33 Moscow time, the Intuitive Machines lander attempted to land gently at 85 degrees south latitude, near the pole. Besides drilling and water analysis tools, there were three rovers on board, one of which was of a rather unusual design. Alas, the landing itself did not go according to plan. showing that even 59 years after the first soft landing on the moon, it remains a very difficult destination.
Video of an attempt to land a spacecraft on the Moon:
Unfortunately, the video of the Athena lunar landing is mainly a visualization based on the parameters received from the device by radio. However, the stream from the mission control center is quite real / © YouTube, Intuitive Machine
In 2007, a new hypothesis for the formation of the Moon (without Theia) predicted the presence of significant amounts of water on the Earth's satellite. In 2009, the probes first showed it at least at the lunar poles. However, the question of its nature is still not fully resolved. If it turns out that the ratio of ordinary and heavy hydrogen in the circumpolar lunar ice is similar to that of comets, then the idea that they brought H2O there will be confirmed. If the isotope ratio is the same as on Earth, this will become a powerful argument in support of the scenario of the formation of the Moon without Theia.
In this case, the satellite's circumpolar zone may be covered with kilometer-thick permafrost, possibly even with liquid water lenses under the frozen layer. But so far, the study of the areas closest to the poles has been carried out only from orbit. And from there it is impossible to establish the isotope ratio, and even more so it is impossible to drill, even to a shallow depth.
The new mission of the American company Intuitive Machines was supposed to change this situation. It was planned to land the lander at Mouton Peak. Although the media often call it "Mons Mouton", in fact, this is incorrect, since in selenology the Latin names of mountains are translated in full, and "Mons" is "mountain", "peak". It is located at 84.6 degrees south latitude, between two shaded craters — Nobile and Malapert. Mouton Peak is often called the highest of the lunar mountains with its own name (although this is a controversial issue). Its height above the surrounding area is six kilometers. The name is given in honor of NASA computer scientist of the 1960s, African-American Roy Melba Mouton. Until 2022, the name was Leibniz Beta.
Mouton Peak was called Leibniz Beta until 2022 (the left half of the map, at the bottom)
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Due to the height of Mouton Peak, the landing site does not lie in the zone of eternal shade. Because of this, Athena's solar panels could receive energy there for 14 Earth days (one lunar day). After landing, the spacecraft was scheduled to turn on The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) and use it to take a sample from a depth of 0.9 meters. A mass spectrometer would estimate the water content of the extracted samples and their overall composition.
If all had gone well, shortly after landing, the Athena would have been abandoned by the MicroNova, a lunar rover with a tiny hydrazine rocket engine. His task is to "jump away" in small pulses to the areas of greatest interest, that is, the eternal shadow craters near Mouton Peak. Theoretically, such a device can even explore lava tubes, although there are no known entrances near the landing point.
The problem with this part of the mission was initially communication stability. Due to the absence of wheels or tracks, the MicroNova is really capable of moving even on very steep slopes. A low center of gravity should prevent it from turning over. But whether Athena was able to maintain a stable connection with lunopryg when it got into a really deep part of the craters is unclear. Although a small 4G network, the first on the Moon, was supposed to connect Athena with the devices it deployed. In general, no one has any experience working with lunopyg yet, in this sense, the mission is experimental.
MAPP on the Moon in the artist's view
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
The small wheeled lunar rover Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) was also supposed to leave Athena. In addition to deploying the 4G network module, it is notable for being the first American lunar rover in history. It is very small, 45 by 40 by 38 centimeters, weighs less than five kilograms, and has a maximum speed of 0.36 kilometers per hour. It is powered by solar panels placed on the sides of the rover (the sun is low above the horizon at the pole), there are no radioisotope energy sources. Therefore, like the Athena, it is unlikely to "wake up" after a moonlit night and is designed for only 14 days. The equipment on board is the simplest, mostly cameras.
"Athens" and "Yaoki" on the moon in the artist's view
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Five days after the moon landing, another Yaoki lunar rover, created by the Japanese startup Dymon, was planned to descend from Athena. This is a rather unusual crawling robot (in the illustration), in fact, so far it has only cameras. The advantages of such a platform are its potentially high maneuverability and the ability to move along steep slopes. The dimensions are only 15 by 15 by 10 centimeters. With a mass of 498 grams, it can withstand overloads of up to 100 g, which, according to calculations, will allow it to continue moving even if it falls off a 600-meter-high lunar mountain.
Unfortunately, the braking engine did not shut down on time during landing. As far as can be understood from the broadcast, there was no regular lunar landing due to this, although some signals from the device were nevertheless received. It is still unclear to what extent the moon landing occurred abnormally. The company tried to disable secondary systems on board, hoping that this would help stabilize communication with Athena.
Judging by the broadcast, it is highly likely that the device fell on its side, as it happened last year with the first Intuitive Machines lunar lander "Odyssey". In the same year, 2024, the Japanese lunar spacecraft SLIM turned over during the moon landing. Some energy is supplied from its solar panels, but it seems that it is not enough for normal operation, as well as, possibly, for stable communication with the Earth.
