Private lunar lander Atna, developed by intuitive machines, touched down near the south pole of the moon, although the exact position of the spacecraft remains unclear. The Houston -based company confirmed that the lander is on the surface, but the mission controller is working to determine its orientation. Landing, which took place in EST at 12:32 pm on 6 March, was part of NASA’s commercial Lunar Palor Services (CLPS) initiative. The mission known as IM-2 is to provide scientific equipment on the lunar surface to check resources and conduct technology performances. A post -landing press conference has been set to provide more information about the status of the lander.
Mission and landing details
As ReportsThe IM-2 mission was rode on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 26 February. Ethena entered the Lunar Orbit on 3 March, requiring no additional course improvement due to the accuracy of its approach. The lineage sequence consisted of several automatic maneuvers, such as navigation and danger detection and avoidance, to ensure a safe landing in Mons Mutton. The last dynasty of the lander saw it slow at the rate of 3 feet per second before contacting the surface. Confirmation signs were expected within 15 seconds of landing.
Scientific goal and ship’s technology
As Informed By Space.com, Athena has borne NASA’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment -1 (Prime -1), which includes a drill known as a trident and a mass spectrometer (MSOLO) for the discovery of water ice below the lunar surface. A secondary spacecraft, grace, has also been deployed to detect permanently shaded pit. Additionally, the lander provided the first 4G/LTE network on the moon, provided by Nokia Bell Labs, and provided a laser retro-reliable array (LRA) for future navigation experiments. There are plans to continue operations for about ten days before Lunar Nightfall.
