SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on February 26, 2025, carrying the Athena lander and NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer orbiter. The mission marks another significant step toward lunar exploration and the potential establishment of sustainable human settlements on the Moon.
A Mission to Unlock Lunar Resources
Athena, developed by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, carries ten NASA science instruments, many of which are designed to detect signs of water ice.
Meanwhile, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer will survey the Moon from orbit, complementing Athena’s surface-level data collection. These efforts align with NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon and pave the way for missions to Mars.
“I’m very excited to see the science that our tech demonstrations deliver as we prepare for humanity’s return to the Moon and the journey to Mars,” said Nicky Fox, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
Successful Launch and Booster Landing
The Falcon 9 lifted off from KSC’s Launch Complex-39A at 7:16 p.m. EST (0017 GMT, Feb. 27). Approximately 8.5 minutes later, the first-stage booster (B1083) landed on SpaceX’s drone ship, A Shortfall of Gravitas, completing its ninth successful flight. The Falcon 9’s upper stage then proceeded with the deployment of Athena and Lunar Trailblazer.
Booster 1083’s past missions include:
- Crew-8
- Polaris Dawn
- CRS-31
- Astranis: From One to Many
- Four Starlink missions
IM-2: Second Lunar Mission
The Athena mission, designated IM-2, is Intuitive Machines’ second Moon landing attempt under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. This initiative promotes commercial partnerships to transport science and technology payloads to the Moon. IM-2 follows the historic IM-1 mission, which saw the Odysseus lander achieve the first private soft lunar landing, despite tipping over upon touchdown due to a landing gear failure.
Trent Martin, Senior VP of Space Systems at Intuitive Machines, expressed optimism about IM-2, stating: “This time, hopefully, we land in a more precise position.”
Athena is targeting the Mons Mouton region, believed to contain significant water ice deposits suitable for future resource utilization, a concept known as in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The lander will attempt a lunar touchdown within four to five days of reaching orbit and will operate on the surface for about ten Earth days.
Science and Exploration Technologies on Board
The primary scientific payload, PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1), consists of two key instruments:
- TRIDENT (Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain): Capable of drilling up to one meter beneath the lunar surface.
- MSolo (Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations): Designed to analyze extracted samples for compounds such as water and carbon dioxide.
MAPP and Grace
IM-2 features two additional exploratory vehicles:
- MAPP (Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform): A mini rover developed by Lunar Outpost, tasked with supporting communication between Athena and other instruments.
- Grace Hopper: A robotic “hopper” designed to explore shadowed craters inaccessible to traditional rovers.
Named after computer scientist Grace Hopper, the hopper will leap across the lunar surface using thrusters, mapping terrain and gathering scientific data in areas where sunlight never reaches. The MAPP rover will enable communications between Grace and Athena, forming the Moon’s first cellular network.
Lunar Trailblazer’s Orbital Mission
Lunar Trailblazer will orbit the Moon, mapping water ice deposits from a high-altitude perspective. Its findings will complement Athena’s surface-level data, providing a broader context for NASA’s long-term lunar exploration strategy.
Bethany Ehlmann, Lunar Trailblazer’s Principal Investigator, explained: “This will let us contextualize and extend the findings of the PRIME-1 mission to what we might be able to see in other parts of the Moon.”
The Cost of Exploration
NASA initially contracted the IM-2 mission for $47 million, but costs increased to $62.5 million due to additional scientific requirements, including temperature data collection. NASA’s deputy associate administrator for exploration, Joel Kearns, emphasized that the agency is “not just paying for equipment, but for unique data made available through commercial partnerships.”
Other Lunar Missions in 2025
Athena and Lunar Trailblazer are part of a broader lunar exploration effort. They join two other missions already en route to the Moon:
- Firefly Aerospace’s “Ghost Riders in the Sky” mission under the CLPS program, carrying NASA payloads.
- Japan-based ispace’s “Resilience” lander, which is set to collect lunar regolith for NASA but has no direct NASA payloads.
Additional Payloads on Falcon 9
Besides Athena and Lunar Trailblazer, the Falcon 9 also carried two additional spacecraft:
- Odin: A vehicle developed by asteroid-mining company Astroforge.
- CHIMERA GEO 1: An orbital transfer vehicle built by Epic Aerospace.
Looking Ahead
With the successful launch of Athena and Lunar Trailblazer, NASA and its commercial partners are one step closer to unlocking the Moon’s potential for future human exploration. If successful, the data from this mission will play a pivotal role in shaping NASA’s Artemis program and humanity’s ambitions beyond Earth.
This mission is a testament to the increasing role of private space companies in deep-space exploration and NASA’s growing reliance on commercial partnerships to achieve its ambitious space goals. As the Moon’s surface becomes a hub for scientific discovery and technological innovation, the dream of sustained human presence beyond Earth inches closer to reality.