IM-2 Mission Ends Early, But Not Without a Few Achievements

Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission to the Moon wrapped up earlier than planned, but not before delivering at least some data to NASA. The Nova-C lander, Athena, touched down on March 6 inside a crater near the lunar South Pole—just not quite where it was supposed to.

Instead of landing at Mons Mouton as intended, it came to rest over 1,300 feet away… and, as later images confirmed, on its side. This unfortunate orientation limited its ability to operate key instruments before the batteries ran out, leading to an early end to the mission at 12:15 a.m. CST on March 8.

The IM-2 mission was part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The lander carried a suite of technology and science payloads meant to pave the way for future Artemis missions. This included the TRIDENT drill, designed to extract lunar soil, and a mass spectrometer to analyze volatiles—potential resources that could one day support human exploration. While the sideways landing put a stop to some planned experiments, NASA still received 250 megabytes of data.

Before the batteries gave out, Athena managed to capture and transmit images of the landing site and activate NASA’s PRIME-1 instruments. TRIDENT demonstrated its full range of motion in the harsh lunar environment, while the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) detected elements—though mostly from the lander’s own propulsion system rather than anything groundbreakingly new. NASA’s passive Laser Retroreflector Array, which doesn’t require power, remains intact on the lander for future use.

“Empowering American companies to deliver science and tech to the Moon on behalf of NASA both produces scientific results and continues development of a lunar economy,” expressed Joel Kearns, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for Exploration in the Science Mission Directorate. “While we’re disappointed in the outcome of the IM-2 mission, we remain committed to supporting our commercial vendors as they navigate the very difficult task of landing and operating on the Moon.”

Meanwhile, Intuitive Machines, responsible for launch, delivery, and operations, is set to try again with its upcoming IM-3 and IM-4 missions in 2026 and 2027.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/clps