A Robotic Moon Lander is scheduled to be launched in space this week, which represents the second moon’s task of a company that made history a year ago by becoming the first private company to successfully land on the surface of the moon.
The spacecraft, known as Athens, was built by Texas -based intuitive machines. You will carry exercises and a set of tools to study the chemical makeup of the rocks and soil below the surface of the moon.
The task is part of the NASA commercial load services program, which was established by the Space Agency to support the development of private sector companies.
The target landing location is a plateau in the Antarctic Satisfaction area, on a flat mountain called Mons Mouton.
The lunar southern pole is of special importance to NASA because the water ice believes that it is relatively abundant in shaded pits in the region. This water can eventually help the efforts made permanently on the moon. In particular, the Athens Mission will search for a potential surface water, which may be an important resource for future missions on the moon.
Athens is scheduled to be fired at the top of the Spacex Falcon 9 on Wednesday at 7:17 pm East time from the Kennedy Space Center in NASA in Florida.
The same missile will also launch an industrial moon in the NASA moon maps, known as Lunar Trailblazer.
The important two important areas of the multiple space this week: NASA also plans on Thursday to send the SPAREX Space Observatory to orbit. The satellite is designed to set the entire sky in three -dimensional and study the origins of the universe.
Meanwhile, Spacex aims to launch Megarock Starship on an eighth test on Friday.
Then, during the weekend, the separate Robotian moon – built by the company built by Firefly Aerospace – will try to settle on the moon’s surface.
After its launch, Athens Lander is expected to spend about a week on a trip to the moon. If things go according to the plan on Wednesday, the spacecraft can fall early in March 6.
The task is also designed to test the 4G communications system, developed by Nokia, on the surface of the moon. Nokia officials said this network can be used to transfer communications or remote measurement or other data between various spacecraft on the moon.
Many moon preservatives also ride with the ATHENA spacecraft, including a vehicle the size of a roaming bag around the location of landing and taking 3D photos of the Antarctic Terrorism of the Moon. Lunar Outpost, a commercial space for Colorado, has built Rover, which was called MAPP (short for an independent mobile phone excavation platform).
Meanwhile, the thumb -called “Astroant” Rover aims to work as an assistant and move on the MAPP ROVER surface and take temperature readings to evaluate the health of the car. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed small robot.
In addition, during its week’s mission, ATHENA Lander will launch a drone designed to make a series of jumps around the landing site. It is called the Grace, which is called a jumping robot, explores approximately 650 feet from the ground in four leaps, and ventures in a nearby hole to scan ice deposits and the potential presence of hydrogen, According to the intuitive machines.
The company achieved its first historical landing of the moon in February 2024, when Odysseus Lander landed near a hole called malaier A, near the southern pole. The first teacher was not the first successful Moon by a private company, but was also the first time that an American spacecraft was launched on the moon for more than 50 years – since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
However, Odysseus Lander ended on his side on its side on the surface of the moon, which hindered his ability to collect the intended amount of data (although the drop was considered success though).
This time, the intuitive machines hope to adhere to the landing.
NASA eventually plans to employ at least some companies participating in the commercial lunar load services program to transport goods and scientific tools to the moon as part of the broader Agency’s goal of returning astronauts to the moon.