This orientation prevented the lander's solar panels from capturing enough sunlight, and Intuitive Machines declared Athena dead on March 7. (The company's first moon lander, named Odysseus, also tipped over during its historic February 2024 touchdown but was able to operate for longer on the lunar surface.)

Lunar Outpost’s MAPP rover mission would have seen it become the first U.S. robotic rover on the surface of the moon. It would have also tested first-of-its-kind lunar 4G Nokia cellphone technology and completed the first sale of so-called “space resources” in human history—by scooping up a small amount of moon dirt for NASA.

A sideways and off-target landing has brought Intuitive Machines’ lunar mission to an early end — the second such mishap for the company.

On Jan. 15, a commercial lunar lander launched from Earth carrying the United States' first robotic rover designed to explore the moon. The Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP), built by Lunar Outpost, has four specialized wheels and a rocker arm suspension to traverse the difficult terrains found at the moon's south pole.

For the second time in two years, a commercial lunar lander built and operated by Intuitive Machines has fallen over on the moon

Chris Stott, founder of St. Petersburg’s Lonestar Data Holdings, relayed the news to the rest of the team on video call. An unmanned lunar lander named Athena, carrying the company’s 8-terabyte data center,