Second Intuitive Machines lunar mission. Achieved southernmost lunar landing to date near Mons Mouton.
IM-2 marked Intuitive Machines' second lunar mission and achieved the southernmost landing in lunar exploration history when the Nova-C lander "Athena" touched down near Mons Mouton on March 6, 2025, at approximately 84.5 degrees south latitude. This placed the lander deeper into the lunar south pole region than any previous mission.
The primary payload was NASA's PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1), consisting of a drill called TRIDENT and a mass spectrometer called MSolo — hardware designed to search for water ice below the lunar surface. The mission also carried a micro-rover hopper and several commercial payloads.
Like its predecessor IM-1, the landing did not go entirely as planned. A faulty laser altimeter caused Athena to touch down approximately 400 meters from its target inside a small crater, and the lander tipped onto its side. The crew activated PRIME-1 before power was depleted on March 7, approximately one day after landing — a significantly shorter surface operation than planned.
Demonstrate precision landing capability at extreme south polar latitudes near permanently shadowed craters, deeper into the south pole than any prior mission.
Use the TRIDENT drill to penetrate up to 1 meter below the surface and analyze subsurface material with the MSolo mass spectrometer, searching for water ice.
Deploy a small hopper-style micro-rover to explore terrain and demonstrate mobility near permanently shadowed regions.
Characterize the environment near permanently shadowed craters at the south pole, including temperature, illumination, and surface conditions.
Test updated navigation systems following the rangefinder issues on IM-1, including improved altimeter redundancy.
Athena achieved the southernmost lunar landing in history on March 6, 2025, touching down at approximately 84.5°S latitude near Mons Mouton. However, a faulty laser altimeter caused the lander to miss its target by roughly 400 meters, landing inside a small crater and tipping onto its side.
Despite the compromised orientation, operators activated several payloads including the PRIME-1 drill experiment before batteries were depleted on March 7 — giving the mission only about one day of surface operations compared to the planned multi-day mission. The landing demonstrated access to extreme south polar regions but highlighted continued navigation challenges for the Nova-C platform.
The Athena lander's mission concluded after batteries depleted, approximately one day after landing. Despite tipping on its side in a crater, the lander activated several payloads including NASA's PRIME-1 experiment before power loss.
Read SourceIM-2 Nova-C lander 'Athena' achieved the southernmost lunar landing to date near Mons Mouton. A faulty laser altimeter caused the lander to touch down approximately 400 meters from its target inside a crater, coming to rest on its side.
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