Athena lunar lander makes it to the moon — but its condition remains unknown

A lunar lander made its touchdown on the moon earlier on Thursday, but controllers on the ground were unable to confirm the Athena lander’s condition upon landing, the Associated Press reported. In addition to its condition, the location of where the craft landed is also unclear.

The lander, which is owned by Intuitive Machines, was carrying an ice drill, a drone and two rovers. Athena was apparently able to communicate with its controllers, the Associated Press reported, citing officials.

Mission director and co-founder Tim Crain was heard telling the team to “keep working on the problem,” despite the craft sending apparent “acknowledgments” to the team in Texas.

This photo provided by NASA shows the Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander approaching the surface of the moon on Thursday, March 6, 2025. (NASA via AP)

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NASA and Intuitive Machines ended the online live stream and announced that they would hold a news conference on the status of Athena later on Thursday.

In this undated image released by Intuitive Machines, Intuitive Machines’ newest lunar lander is displayed. (Intuitive Machines via AP)

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Last year, Intuitive Machine saw its Odysseus lander make it to the moon, only to end up landing sideways, putting extra pressure on today’s landing. 

In this rendering private lunar lander Blue Ghost touches down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)

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Athena is the second craft to land on the moon this week after Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost made touchdown on Sunday. 

“You all stuck the landing. We’re on the moon,” Firefly’s Will Coogan, chief engineer for the lander, said. Blue Ghost’s landing made Firefly Aerospace the first private company to put a spacecraft on the moon without it crashing or falling over.

Fox News’ Landon Minon contributed to this report.